Fon Slot Curse
by Kisho Myst
Summary: Van Grants and Sync reissue the Curse Slot to finish a job Asch can't. The tragedy brings Asch and Luke to realize just how much they need each other in this world to survive, literally. Asch&Luke! It's all good.
1. Prelude to the Epilouge

**Prelude to the Epilouge.**

A/N: I'm not really sure when this takes place, or where in the world it is taking place, but it's happening, and it happens fast. May be a little rushed, but what happens now has to happen fast so the rest of the story can actually take place. This is the briefed background story :D

Anyway, Asch is a little OOC, but that's because I believe his character was overly harsh on Luke for things he couldn't control. Asch will understand in the end, that Luke couldn't control being born!! But he can control whether he keeps living or not!

* * *

"Akzeriuth, I'm sorry…" Luke muttered in his sleep. Tear looked on with a hint of distaste, but then she felt sorry for the poor boy.

"He is having a nightmare again, should we do something?" Tear was worried about Luke. Ever since the collapse of Akzeriuth, many of the group members had lost faith in the young boy. Luke had even lost confidence in himself, sometimes when he was called, he wouldn't responded, as he stated 'I'm not the real Luke'

Guy, as Luke's best friend, had been through much of the drama's of his second life, but to finally learn that it wasn't a second chance at life, it was merely the beginning for a confused child born for the sole purpose the destroying the Score the world depended on. Guy gently shook Luke, in an attempt to wake him, but when he noticed the Fabre boys tears, he wasn't sure if he could.

The road to Daath was long, and by foot, it was even longer. Luke had become a recluse, hiding in his own misery, and Tear and the others were beginning the worry. Was Luke going to be okay? So much strain was being placed on the seven-year old, but Jade and Anise had confidence in his ability to bounce back, refusing to let up on their harsh treatment.

In Luke's mind, he was unaware of the concern his friends felt, but faced a battle all his own. Every one of his comrades was a shadow of their former self, and Luke was alone to defend himself against their verbal and physical abuse.

"You are not anything more then a replica of my best friend." Guy stated coldly, as he attempted to slash at Luke with his sword (that surprisingly enough, Luke had helped him pay for).

Jade cast a string of fonic artes, aiming at cornering Luke's bleeding form. "Because of your existence, an entire city of innocents fell into the miasma…"

"You aren't my fiancé!" Natalia shouted, firing rounds of arrows, aiming for Luke's heart.

Luke's nightmare was becoming more and more realistic, his wounds aching from the lurid hallucinations. It was no longer a nightmare, but a twisted reality in which he greatest fears were realized. One hateful voice rose above all others, But Luke recognized it as a constant. Asch was yelling angrily at everyone and everything around him, pushing through them to get to his 'worthless replica.'

The battling Asch had done to discover the source of his replica's mental anguish had left him in a very unpleasant mood, but when he realized that this nightmare was much more then just that. Something dark was gripping onto the group, and Asch felt it his duty to warn the small band of travelers.

"Luke, can you hear me?" Asch recognized the situation as no time for taunting, no time for hate, his life, as well as the future of the planet may be at stake with the early death of Luke.

The heavily bleeding and scorched body of his replica was unresponsive at first, his pulse nothing more then a reminder that his grip on life was fading. "This is just a dream Luke, you can't die here!"

Asch was becoming rather frustrated at whatever possessed the shared space between him and Luke. This realm was tainted by a heavy darkness, and whatever it was could affect him as well, if the darkness was not cleared.

But then it hit him.

"Luke! The Curse Slot!" Asch poured seventh fonons into Luke's mental self, as a sort of jolt to revive him. Luke took a deep breathe and shot up, the dark shadows of his allies had vanished after believing him to be dead. The wounds engulfing his body had not healed, but Asch recognized them as mental scars, more of wounds to develop into scars.

"If you can't wake up replica, you're entire group of friend's may die at the hands of Van and Sync, they are trying to destroy you mentally!" Asch was becoming rather aggressive, as was his nature, but instantly regretted his outburst when a sharp slash a crossed Luke's arm resumed bleeding.

With a sigh, Asch resigned to be a tiny bit gentler, until he could get Luke away from this place.

"I can't leave here." Luke said, dejected. "What you have been saying all this time is right, I killed all those people, I ignored you, and come to find out Asch, I took away your entire life, just by being born." Luke's body fell back upon the black nothing, his entire body fading in and out with each breath.

"You must wake up Luke, Van wants you to believe all of this, I can always start a new life Luke." Although Asch didn't want too. "Prove to me you aren't worthless by not fading away Luke, prove to me you are worthy of my respect by living and fighting against this darkness, protect your friends from Van and I will forgive you for something… Something you had no control over." Finally admitting that Luke was not at fault was hard for him, but admitting and accepting were two different things.

Luke rolled his head back in pain, Lorelei attempting to save his isofone. With the golden light of the seventh fonons, Luke accepted the need for him to continue living.

Asch was confused, but the darkness had begun to clear, and Luke faded away to the physical world under Lorelei's guiding hand. "I expect you to tell me what Lorelei is telling you right now next time we meet…. Luke."

Luke finally awoke from his nightmare, in a cold sweat. Guy was sitting by his side, and his tired eyes were awakened with the fear in Luke's movements. Young Fabre quickly collected his bearings, making sure to grab his sword to protect his friend's against something he could control.

"Are you alright Luke?" Guy called nervously. "It's not like you to be this worried this late at night."

The readhead flinched away when Guy placed his hand protectively on his shoulder, causing Guy to retract his arm, as if he had been shocked by the contact.

"I'm fine Guy, did anything unusual happen while I was asleep?" Luke picked up his chest plate, but set it back down. The bulky iron would provide great defense, but Luke hadn't fought with it since he left the manor.

Guy heard a twig snap in the surrounding woods, but the commotion Luke had caused awoke some of the others. Natalia and Tear were groggily looking around to discover what cause of such activity, and Jade was calculating Luke and Guy's movements.

Another crack.

Guy reached down to grip his sword, when the unwelcome feeling of the Curse Slot crept upon him. When he was about to call out, he lost control. 'Damnit!' Guy thought, fighting against his bodies movements.

Van Grants made his appearance at the edge of the clearing, calling for Luke's attention. "You are nothing but a replica Luke!" Van called. "You will end up hurting your friends tonight, without even trying, so why not just come with me? I'll make your death as painless as possible."

"I won't give in to you Master Van!" Luke pulled his sword out of it's sheath, and assumed his battle stance.

"Suit yourself Luke, but you die tonight." The image of Van faded, a simple mirage he had produced to distract Luke from the activity in the background. Sync stepped out in Van's place, and with a flick of his wrist, Guy lost his ability to resist.

"Goodbye replica." Sync spat, as if even referencing Luke was a poison. Sync ran off into the woods, leaving a confused Luke.

"Hey!" Luke let his sword drop to his side. "You didn't even hit me!"

Jade suddenly realized what was going on, jumping to his feet. "Luke!"

Guy had drawn his sword, and the dark look in his eyes resembled the shadow Luke had witnessed in his earlier dream. The blond began charging Luke, but the redhead was too shocked to respond. He turned to face Guy, after hearing Jade call to him, but it was too late.

Jade had been almost finished casting Ground Dasher between the two of them when the blade of Guy Cecil drove straight through the abdomen of Luke fon Fabre.

The Curse Slot evaporated in an eerie black mist, and the effected swordsman fell to the ground. Tear and Natalia were paralyzed, too stunned to move. Jade canceled the casting of his spell to avoid any further harm to the Fabre boy, but he feared damage may already be too great to repair.

An eerie sight was the first thing Guy saw upon regaining control of his body. Jade was taking small steps towards Luke, as to prevent shock, but the poor boy remained standing, stumbling occasionally from the wound in his stomach. He coughed, showing some sign of life, but the sign was not what Jade had expected.

Blood was seeping from the sword's sick placement, and with every cough, or gasp for air, more blood was lost from Luke's mouth.

Tear finally cried out, rushing to help Luke against Jade's better judgment. Natalia fell to her knees, the replaying sound of Guy's sword piercing Luke's body was making her physically sick.

"Don't try and speak to him Tear!" Jade quickly followed after her to keep the wound in his abdomen from growing. Luke's knees had finally given out, and Jade and Tear were cautious to catch him and vigilantly bring him to his knees.

"That sound…" Natalia winced. "I'll never forget this sound if Luke doesn't survive…"

But Guy was in too much shock to realize Luke's final conscious words.

"I'm sorry… Guy…."

Tear felt Luke's head drop to her shoulder, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth staining her uniform. "Don't you die on me Luke!" She screamed, holding back her sobs to begin singing her fonic hymns.

Jade knew that if they removed the blade to clean the wound, the blood loss would only increase, and Luke would have no chance. "He will die by morning if we try and heal him ourselves. We need to move now, he needs to get to Daath for medical attention."

"How are you staying so calm! Jade, he is dying! He needs my help now!" Tear wrapped her arms around the unconscious Luke, her tears finally winning. "I can't let him die Jade, not when he is still suffering, when he thinks we all hate him…"

Guy felt his heart rate quicken. "It was all a dream, wasn't it? I can wake up tomorrow, and I'll be sitting by the fire, none of this happened, right Jade?" Guy's arms gave way, and he landed on his side with a loud thud. "I didn't stab Luke. I didn't kill my best friend."

Jade frowned, and pushed his glasses up further onto his nose. He took the brief moments of everyone's mental breakdowns to think, to figure out what he needed to do to prolong death as long as possible.

"We have to get Asch here." Jade said indisputably.

"We have to remove Guy's sword!" Tear screamed once more. She wrapped her hand around the handle, but Jade covered her hand with his.

"We can't do anything except make sure he remains alive. Asch can move him without disrupting the sword, using their dual-hyperresonance." Jade frowned at the newly presented dilemma. 'How do we contact Asch?'


	2. An Interlude

**An Interlude.**

A/N: Normally I don't even do Author's Notes, but I feel so lonely ;;

I wrote the first chapter last night while studying for finals, so do expect a rework of it in the very near future. I'm just going to beef it up a lot so it's more fluid, and less rushed, with so few words, how can I almost kill a man! How did I do it? I have no idea, but this chapter is just going to explain Asch and Luke and their feelings for each other presently. There will be a few of these as little updates.

Long notes. Story now.

* * *

"You are a replica Luke." 

"I didn't choose to be this way Asch."

"But you are."

"And how am I able to fix that? I can't go back in time and prevent my birth, if it can even be considered that."

Asch sighed mentally. Luke did have a point. But as Luke continued to pester him before he would fall asleep each night, Asch was angry to admit that he was growing fond of their nightly chats. Asch was able to keep Luke one step ahead of Van, after the destruction of Akzeriuth. Van had been intent on destroying Luke along with the city,

It had only been one month; one month of the same circular conversations, and Asch had begun to wonder is Luke tired of hearing the same responses. No matter how much he reasoned that he was more then Asch's replica, the more Asch himself began to wonder why he hated him so much.

"I'm going to be turning nine soon, you know."

Asch laughed, and not just for Luke to hear. Sync gave the god-general a strange look, before resuming his duties of reorganizing Van's conference room.

"That's quite strange to hear, coming from practically my own mouth, I'll be nineteen."

Luke looked around the campsite; all was in order, except he was alone. He sat away from the group, and slept cold and hungry each night. Asch felt the pang of misery as it struck Luke, and sighed. It was time for Luke to bring up Akzeriuth again.

"We talk about the same things each night Asch, every night our conversation moves in circles. Why do you talk to me when my friends won't?"

Asch thought about what he could say, almost ignoring Luke's comments to himself.

"We aren't friends Asch, no matter how much I wish we were, do you just talk to me to keep yourself from feeling my loneliness?"

"No, that's not…"

"Or does the memory of my negligence haunt your nightmares until you no longer dream of it, but things much worse?"

"Luke, stop it…"

"I wish you were here Asch, how I wish you could just slap me, punch me if you had too, anything to take my mind off my own deficiencies."

"Listen to me! Luke!"

Luke didn't respond, but Asch could feel increasing waves of melancholy.

"I don't talk to you at night for me, or for you, but for us. I don't want to follow Van, and no, we aren't friends, we are an Original and a Replica, we can communicate telepathically. I talk to you and I stay here to keep you safe. I may hate you sometimes, and dislike you the majority of the others, but what Van plans to do to you is much worse. If we suddenly were friends, if we suddenly were able to cooperate, we would both be eliminated with one command."

Luke sighed, but surprisingly did not respond.

"Maybe one day we can be friends Luke, but right now, I will keep you company at night, because Yulia knows I need it as well, trapped in this forsaken place."

"One day…" Luke said sadly. "Van won't try and kill me? I highly doubt that. I highly doubt anything will happen differently. It would take some drastic changes for things to get any better."

Asch was a bit angry with Luke, but knew better then to get angry. The mental scars he had the potential of leaving weren't worth it, after he was able to actually see the cuts his words could make. Luke's defences against his mental and emotional health had been shattered when he had been the one to bring an entire city to it's death.

Luke had rolled onto his side in an attempt to keep warm, hoping for a good dream tonight. Normally he would say goodnight to Asch, but he was still rather hurt that Asch admitted they would more then likely, never be friends. 'Van will never stop hunting me…' Luke thought to himself, learning the difference between hiding his thoughts and publicizing them early on in Asch and his talks.

"Goodnight Luke." Asch said reluctantly. He hadn't really wanted to go to sleep so soon, but Luke was not up to any more conversation, there were still things he needed to sort out on his own, but Asch wished his friends would be more forgiving.

'You can't expect an 8 year old to know everything an eighteen year old does, Luke really can't replace me, no matter how they tried to make him…'

Luke was a bit suprised that Asch had actually said goodnight, but he wouldn't press the matter, until tomorrow night at least.

"Goodnight Asch."


	3. Isofone

**Isofone**

Luke tried to open his eyes, but the heaviness of his eyelids was too great. The darkness of his dreamless sleep was not where Luke wanted to be though, he wanted to be awake, and he didn't want to experience the things he did in the dark again. It was safe to say that Luke would rather be feeling the full pain in his bleeding stomach, rather then the dull ache.

The small amount of consciousness he had left was a confusing mess of voices against the darkness of his own unseeing eyes. Anise had been woken by Jade to keep an eye on Guy, who had been restrained by Tokunaga. She was calmly hiding the sobs in his voice and she spoke to Guy, careful not to invoke his gynophobia.

"It's not your fault Guy. Everyone will be okay in the end, we will forgive you, Luke will forgive you."

Luke tried to move his head, to see what else was occurring around him, but his eyes slipped closed, and his gift of reality was being retracted by an unknown force. Luke was unable to feel the was Tear had hugged his head close to protect her own sanity at his potential for death. Her hymns had long since stopped their helping; she was unable to concentrate long enough to complete the verses that could bring Luke back to her.

Luke couldn't feel Natalia's hands directly above the sword in his stomach, the hilt resting comfortably against his flesh, and the blade oddly protruding from his back. Luke defiantly couldn't feel Jade's gaze as he studied the best way to extract the sword without causing further blood-loss, and potential death.

But Luke could feel Jade grip the handle, and he could hear his orders to be ready to begin healing once the sword was completely removed. The Fabre boy's breathing because more labored from his own fear, 'Will I die?' he thought nervously. 'Will I die without even saying goodbye?'

With the remaining consciousness Luke could muster, he opened the connection to Asch. Asch may get angry with him for contacting him in the daytime, but Luke wanted to tell him he was sorry, one last time.

"What is it?" Asch said harshly through their connection.

Luke was unable to concentrate long enough to give him an intelligent response, so he forced the connection open past the simple communication.

"Luke, what happened?" Asch had been glad he had simply been in the library when the connection was opened. He doubled over in pain, coughing harshly to regain his breath.

"Curse Slot" Luke quickly responded, bracing himself as Jade started a simple countdown.

"Three." Jade said quietly.

"Was it Van? Did Van stab you?" Asch ground his teeth together, his forehead digging into the scratchy carpet near the bookshelf he had been visiting.

"Two." Jade closed his eyes when he noticed Luke was returning from the world of unconsciousness.

"Sync… and Guy…"

Asch felt the pain lessen, as Luke was losing the strength to keep the connection open. He quickly jumped to his feet, making his way back to his room with a blank expression on his face. "I'm coming for you; Van had Guy stab you with the intentions of destroying you're mind and body. Hold on Luke! Stay with me!"

"One" Jade's voice quivered as he forcefully pulled the sword with all the strength he could manage.

Luke felt his body give a harsh lurch forward, the sickening sound of metal against skin causing him to forcefully wake up. The redhead screamed, as blood as red as his hair trickled from his mouth.

Asch was able to hear the sickening scream, before the connection was vehemently closed. Asch knew it would take days to reach him by foot, but hyperresonance was risky, he wasn't always sure where he would end up when he was emotionally charged.

"It's worth a shot…" He thought to no one in particular, Luke could no longer hear him as he muttered messages of endearment. "Be safe Luke, be alive when I get there. Don't die on me, because if you die, I will have to kill Van myself."

As Guy watched with watering eyes, he couldn't see the little girl in front of him. He couldn't feel the giant bear behind him. He felt incredibly similar to Luke in all respects except for one.

"I just stabbed Luke. I just killed Luke. I didn't want to kill him… I don't want him to die…" The mantra Guy had taken to repeating was dying down when Tear and Natalia had taken to vigorous healing. The golden glow they hoped would bring Luke some peace was also calming his nerves; he had completely lost control of his emotions the moment the Curse Slot dissipated.

A flash appeared in the nearby woods, and Jade shot Anise a concerned look. Luke's half-lidded eyes were watching Tokunaga as it released Guy, and returned to Anise's side to protect their damaged ally. Without the giant bear to protect him, Guy fell to his knees. Jade tossed him Luke's sword, and returned to examining the extent of internal damage Luke had suffered.

"If you want Luke to forgive you, protect him and us, just keep that blade away from anyone that isn't out enemy." Jade did not hide his obvious mistrust in the entire dissipation of the Curse Slot, but trusted Guy to fight off any remaining traces and keep from stabbing Luke once more.

When the assailant revealed himself to be Asch, Guy tossed the sword to the ground and turned to approach his bleeding friend for the first time since the Curse Slot had been lifted.

Asch placed his hand on Guy's shoulder and shook his head, knowing any remaining traces of the curse would become unstoppable near Luke's injured form. "He is an easy target now, not only for you Guy, but for the monster's starting to coagulate at the scent of his blood."

There were traces of contempt in Asch's voice, but he ignored Guy's protests and continued walking forward. As if some other force was controlling his body, he reached down to lift Luke from the dirty, blood soaked ground. His replica was shaking; from any number of ailments he had obtained lying on the hard ground.

Natalia and Tear protested Asch vocally with cries and whimpers, but no matter how much they asked Asch to leave Luke, he would not have it. When Asch turned to attempt another hyperresonance, Tear stood up to try and fight for Luke back, but Jade held her back. "Asch and Luke can't be followed for sometime if you don't want to be injured. Their fonons are attempting to repair each other; Lorelei is trying to protect his isofones."

"Can't we go too?!" Natalia cried out. She reached out to Asch, hoping he would turn and give them some clue as to what was happening.

"We can't follow until Asch or Luke are in condition enough to send for us. If I had to guess, he would be heading to Belkend, the doctor's there will be able to treat and monitor Luke better then I could." But something about the distant look in Asch's eyes had Jade wondering if maybe this would be the last time the two of them could be seen together.

Jade sighed and massaged his brow, thinking about all of the previous fomicry experiments he could have data on. "Everyone, let us pack up, we must attempt to meet the two of them, in case this is the last time we will be seeing two instead of one."

Guy felt even sicker, the guilt building upon his conscience was making every breath a chore, the sickness in his stomach was a reminder of the sword that had pierced Luke's own stomach. Jade had left the bloodied blade in the dirt next to the spot of Luke's fall. The dirt there had absorbed much of his blood, but the sheer volume of it was enough to make Guy lose all the contents of his previous meals.

The deathly silent group was not ignorant to Guy's internal battles with himself though, as Jade and Anise had discussed using Tokunaga to carry Guy upon it's back. With one sweep, Guy was lifted off the ground, and the horror-stricken group of five began their journey towards Belkend.

* * *

"Jade, what new research do you have upon the perfect isofone project?"

Jade's red eyes were hidden by the glare in his glasses, but he was staring intently at the man in front of him. When his opponent in the contest refused to blink, Jade looked out the window, adjusting his glasses and pulling out a stack of papers from a folder on the ground.

"When the prefect isofones know their time on this world as two separate beings is drawing to a close, they will begin to act with the will of their combined consciousness. If that combined consciousness is not ready to form, the actions will remain the same, but with the added instinct of survival."

Jade closed the folder on top of the report, and pulled it back towards himself.

"This information is dangerous. Two perfect isofones who are in danger of premature combination will become very violent and irrational, and if one is injured, the other will not allow any unwanted contact, as it believes it is protecting it's own injured body. One consciousness, two bodies. Separate one body from the pair and the seventh fonons that make up the replica will vibrate at such a frequency that only the Original can hear. This vibration, when amplified into a higher frequency, can be used as a weapon, as human ears are not tolerant to the new frequency."

The man narrowed his eyes at Jade, but Jade made no move the back down. "Dist, this is my research, and I believe it to be too dangerous to allow into the hands of a man like you."

Jade slammed the door to his office closed, and planned to ship his findings to his sister for safe keeping.

"I would love to experience this, on a pair of isofones that are something a little more then simple cheagles, or rappigs." Jade sighed. "Maybe someday all this useless research will become useful."


	4. Disobedience

**Disobedience.**

A/N: I'm listening to meaning of birth and sometimes I wish my writing were as powerful as this song was the first time I heard it and I realized what was going on.

* * *

Asch was sure to teleport somewhere outside of Belkend, their hyperresonance could draw unwanted attentions, such as Van or the other God-General's Asch had left behind.

The combined consciousness, as Van had explained to him once, was very dangerous, and if he should ever experience it, kill the one sharing his consciousness to regain his own. Van said "The Original is always more important."

Van said "The worthless replica will call out to you, his very fonons will ask for help and the desperation of imminent death will become his weapon. Until you are able to resist that call, you will be his to control."

Asch had listened intently that day, after he had discovered that he had been replicated. But when Asch had gone to kill Luke the first day, he had heard a voice that wasn't Luke's, it wasn't warning of death and calls and vibrations.

"Asch…Luke… my perfect isofones…"

Luke showed no signs of hearing the voice, but it required further knowledge, and thus, he left to ask Van Grants of what he knew.

Van told him he was a replica of the very memory of the planet, and that Luke was just a cheap imitation of that. It was that day Asch began to wonder what the difference between the two of them was, they were both replica's it appeared, Asch had just been born the normal way, and Luke had been created while Asch watched in horror.

"Asch?" Luke meekly whimpered, his body's strength moving in circles.

"Shut up Luke." Asch said, trying to be menacing, but the very real pain that he occasionally would feel in his abdomen reminded him that Luke was probably off in space somewhere.

Luke tried to reach his hand up to touch Asch's face, but the offered gesture was unable to be completed, and Luke was still unsure if he was dead yet. His hand fell limply to his side, and his eyes slid closed one more. Asch groaned, the blood dripping off his hand would surely attract unwanted attention, but it was very late and they had almost arrived at the Doctor's office.

Luke muttered in his uneasy state of rest, and Asch couldn't help be wonder what his dreams were all about. "How did we get here?" Luke mumbled with his eyes closed.

Asch had decided that talking to no one would make him as crazy as Luke was everyday, and ignored the question.

Luke started moving, trying to sit up and roll away from Asch. This movement confused the Fabre original, but Luke continued to mutter in his sleep-like state.

"Asch? Are you there? Why did you come?"

Luke opened his eyes wide enough for the green iris to become visible to a curious Asch.

The make-shift bandages Jade and the others had created using shreds of anything they could find had started to bleed through, and Asch was hoping none of that blood got on his uniform.

"Someone has to look after the world's oldest eight-year old." Asch said quietly, hoping that if Luke was really awake he would hear, and then maybe he wouldn't feel so crazy.

"Why did Van tell Guy that this is what Guy wanted? I was there, in the darkness with them…" Luke coughed violently, and Asch quickly pushed open the door to the laboratory. A dead silence fell over the night-shift workers, and Asch was becoming angry.

He calmly walked towards the clinic, and as Luke's eyes slid closed once more, Asch wondered if for the last time.

A number of nurses and doctor's pulled Luke away from Asch, he had pulled him so close, but couldn't remember when. "I can go now, right?" Asch whispered, trying to hide his worry that Luke had died in his arms, because he hadn't moved fast enough.

"I'd like someone to stay with him, in case we are unable to stabilize him and we will need consent to let him die." He is still alive.

Asch was relieved, but confused as to why he cared so much. That experience he had felt, the first time Luke had opened the connection fully, he felt as though he was a complete person once more, instead of a shell of Luke fon Fabre. Asch the Bloody was alive, and this life told him to save that bloody mess of a replica.

He turned to leave, the doctor a bit confused by his actions. "I leave the decision up to you; his friends will arrive soon, tomorrow morning at the latest."

"What if he wakes?"

Asch halted his slow exit, and look at the doctor over his shoulder. "Tell him I'm going to find out who did this to him, and personally deal with the matter."

The vibration of Luke's fonons was a gentle reminder that he was still alive, and still calling out for Asch's aid. "But I can't do anymore." Asch stated flatly. His green eyes were cold, and he pushed through the combined conscience, pleading with him to stay. The buzzing in his mind was quickly tuned out, and Asch fought back the desire to stay with his replica.

"He is just a replica." He whispered to no one in particular. "If he dies here today, I won't care."

But Asch was having a hard time making himself believe that.


	5. Confliction

**Confliction **

As Asch pulled the laboratory door tightly closed behind him, Sync was appeared at the bottom of the staircase. It was close to three in the morning, and Asch was no doubt surprised to see the God-General up and moving.

"Van and I have found a way to destroy your replica and Lorelei at the same time, you won't have to use hyperresonance; you can continue to live." Sync smiled, obviously proud of his accomplishment.

"I think I prefer to handle the matter on my own." Asch brushed off Sync's comments, on the outside at least. "But tell me Sync, what exactly have you and Commandant been up too?"

Sync smiled holding up the Daathic relic he used to cast the artes he had been replicated for. "Since my original is dead, I can continue to exist as long as I don't overexert my power, but since you are still alive, Luke will just grow stronger while he sucks away your life."

Asch narrowed his eyes, his anger starting to build from the predictable conclusion to Sync's actions. "So you want to kill him? How will that destroy Lorelei?"

"We didn't kill him, he injured him, badly, so badly he may never recover. Using my Curse Slot, I awakened the hatred in the one from Hod, and drove Van's cursed blade through his stomach." Sync waved his hand as if he had not just put the future of the planet in the balance with Luke's life.

"And what happens if he dies?" Asch was no angel of mercy, but if killing Luke was not their intention, he was curious as to what was, and perhaps, he thought, killing Luke would have been much better then what they planned.

"He can't die!" Sync exclaimed. He wore a huge grin on his face, trying to convince Asch this was good news. "Alright, listen, the cursed blade was effective right before the impact, to sustain Luke's life, It's a barrier from death. We keep him in this state, and you can access the shared conscious, and from there you just destroy the other two who can access it, using the violent vibrations from Luke's body and Lorelei's weakness for his Isofone's abilities. How's it sound?"

Asch turned and left Sync standing alone in Belkend, his own anger and betrayal overwhelming his senses. 'I can't simply access that conscience without repercussions, Van must know that…'

Sync frowned, and decided to use his last bit of information to try and win Asch back. "Van said you can return to your family if you complete this task!"

But Asch didn't stop. He continued to fight for composure; the realizations were too harsh for him to cope with. 'Van is going to kill me too, Van wants us all dead to destroy the Score…'

'The sword wound, the shared state of mind, Van planned it all out, except for my decision… I could go home and forget this all, I could return to my family and life would once again return to normal…' The calling of Luke's fonons to Asch was becoming a loud and helpless cry.

"You won't die Luke, but no matter how hard that doctor dies, there isn't any way to end this all…"

"Asch, please help me" Luke's voice was tired and weak, and if Asch hadn't of known that he wouldn't die, he would have believed that time was short for the younger Fabre.

"I want to Luke… but what can I do? Logic says you should be dead."

"Don't let Van get me again! Every time I close my eyes! I'm getting so much weaker Asch, I don't want to die!"

"How is Van there with you?" Asch quickly turned around, relieved to see that Sync had long since left.

"He tells me to keep calling for you, my fonons are all vibrating and it hurts all over…"

"Calm down Luke, can you stop your fonons, Van must knew about the vibration frequencies…"

"I can't stop it, and it just keeps getting worse! I feel like I'm burning alive!"

"Are you conscious Luke? I'm coming back, Van plans on using your fonons to kill a large number of people, very quickly."

"Don't let him do that Asch; I've killed so many already!"

"So have I, Luke.."

The connection was shut abruptly, Asch assumed that Luke had undergone some painful experience, possible stitching, or maybe antiseptic was applied to the wound in his stomach. Either way, Asch was conflicted upon what to do, Luke was certainly not his _friend_, but returning to Van and awaiting further orders didn't seem right.

"I wonder what is right now?" The moon shone bright in the sky, and Asch settled down on the stairs of the laboratory, pulling the pin out of his hair and allowing his bangs to fall freely.

"What are you to me, Luke…"


	6. Je ne parle pas

**Je**** ne parle pas.**

A/N: Hey guys. If I'm on the author alerts list of 11 people, and I only have three reviews, I can only assume you all think I'm incredibly attractive and don't want to tell me that. But it's okay, because I promise things won't get awkward, and we can still be friends.

* * *

"Luke… My perfect isofone… Come back to me…"

The severely injured redhead gradually escaped from the dreamless sleep, the dull ache of his fonons was gone, and Luke was aware that he was heavily medicated at the moment.

"How are you feeling?" Anise had her arms crossed on the side of Luke's clinic bed. There were a few needles in each arm, and many bags of strange liquids, one he identified as blood and shivered. There was also an oxygen tube attached under his nose. Luke thought he must have looked ridiculous, but the strange thought process Luke was undergoing was a red flag to him that he was not alive of his own accord.

When Luke wished to answer Anise, he erupted into a violent coughing fit, and was disgusted when he saw blood covering his hands. Large amounts of pain suddenly overtook Luke, and he desired he was unconscious once more. The coughing disrupted the slow healing process of his chest, and tore through a few delicate sutures.

Luke fell limp onto the bed, and closed his eyes. He listened to everything that was going on around him, as sleep was not coming as quickly as he had hoped.

Guy was curled up on the floor, in a restless sleep. The rustling of his clothing as he rolled and stretched about was the first thing Luke was able to hear.

Tear and Jade were in the corner, discussing something in a very low tone, but Luke could have sworn he heard the name 'Asch' and potentially something along the lines of 'survival.' Not very much was clear to Luke, except the pain in his stomach and the metallic taste in his mouth. Natalia was washing away the external blood with a cloth and was gently speaking to Luke's drugged form.

The weight shifted on the bed, and Luke assumed that Anise had left; maybe it was Natalia's turn to sit and wait for his next awakening? Luke had no clue, but he was denied the ability to open his eyes and find out.

"Asch?" Anise's voice was calm, as if trying to gently wake someone from their sleep. "I'm going to go into town, do you need anything?"

There was a long silence, Luke thought maybe time had just slowed for him; everything seemed to be moving so much slower. "Is Luke awake?"

"He awoke for a brief interlude, but I believe he is getting worse." Luke frowned, on the inside as his body seemed to be denying his requests to move. Trust Jade to not sugar coat anything.

"How so?" Asch sounded angry, maybe he didn't want to be sitting in this room, Luke didn't know, but he knew he would gladly not be sitting in this room either, but he couldn't blame guy for what he did, Luke had felt the Curse Slot open as well, Guy hadn't wanted to stab him, he didn't have a choice.

"He should have died from the impact, the blade caught many of his internal organs in it's path, and it's a miracle it didn't hit his spine." Jade paused when the door opened, and the heavy steps of a weary doctor walked in.

Luke could have sworn he heard Asch's breath when Jade mentioned Luke's life still ongoing. Was Asch keeping him alive?

"I need to give him some sort of cough suppressant to keep these stitches from tearing, the wound is becoming infected from the various times I've had to redo this. Could I ask you, Tear and Natalia, to try and heal the damage to his lungs for me? If there is still blood leaking in, and we stop his body's method of removing it, he will drown before we are even aware." The doctor pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and directed Tear and Natalia's weary forms to either side of the very aware Luke.

"How long ago did he wake? Should we increase the pain-killers?" Luke was getting very nervous at his bodies inability to respond, he didn't want them to think he wasn't going to feel this.

"He was awake not long ago, maybe ten minutes, but it appears as if he fell unconscious again." Tear sounded tired, but the sadness in her voice was equally strong. Natalia brushed a few stray tears away, and wiped more of the stray blood off of Luke's hands and cheeks.

"Let's begin then." The doctor grabbed a thin needle, and a pair of scissors, to remove the old and disintegrating stitches with.

Luke's body was still fighting him, as it refused to respond, but his mind was spiraling into a panic. His fonons hummed lightly, before picking up their vibration. The burning was a sign to Luke that the vibration was only going to get louder, and he braced himself for the pain he was going to be experiencing.

A chair was pushed back abruptly as a gloved hand was placed on Luke's abdomen, slightly above his wound. "Stop."

Asch's voice startled Luke, but he couldn't show his surprise. The vibration stopped, calming to a gentle buzzing. The doctor took a step back, and Tear gasped.

Asch sighed himself, placing his other hand on his forehead. "He is still very aware inside his mind, and his body keeps calling out. You will need to properly subdue him if you wish to continue. I can not allow you to operate while he is still whimpering like a child inside his mind."

Natalia tried to place her hand on Asch's arm, but he took a step away. "I believe he is suffering from some sort of nerve damage, possibly the infection. His body won't respond to his brain waves."

Asch knew he was lying, but he couldn't tell them that the Curse Slot was not only meant to affect Guy.

Asch settled himself back into his chair, and leaned his head back against the wall. His hair was frazzled, and his bangs made him look like Luke had, just before he cut it all off in Yulia City. He opened a mind link to Luke, and attempted to figure out why the vibration continued even after Asch had stopped the incredible amount of pain from occurring.

"You there Luke? What the hell is going on?"

"I can't move my body Asch, I can feel the pain, but I can't move it!"

Asch sighed, placing his gloved hand on his forehead once more.

"Do you think the maybe the sword grazed your spine, just enough to cause nervous damage?"

"I could move just a second ago."

"It could potentially be a side effect from the infec-"

"Is Van nearby?" Luke quickly cut Asch off, the whimpering Guy's tortured form was one of the few things he could still hear, aside from Asch.

"Why?" Asch wasn't sure if Van would be showing his face for sometime. He watched as another dose of pain-killers was administered through one of the many needles in Luke's arm.

"I can't hear him anymore, I've lost my connection to the physical world Asch!"

"Calm down Luke, your fonons will start vibrating and that gives me a headache, not that I don't already have one from your incessant complaining. You just got another shot of sedative and pain-killers"

Luke was silent, listening to something Asch couldn't hear.

"I just head Van say something to Guy. Am I imagining things now?

"Maybe you can hear what I cannot." Asch felt the connection start to fade, the sedative taking effect fast.

"This what Guy wanted, he said. This was Guy's original plan. What does that mean Asch? Asch….?"

The connection faded into nothing and Luke's mind was finally put to rest for sometime. Asch wanted to go and investigate, but he couldn't leave the room without Luke's fonons reacting to his absence. 'What a bother.' He thought plainly, before nodding to the doctor.

"You can start now, he is out."

The golden glow of the seventh fononists gradually lit up the room, although it was already illuminated with the bright hospital lights. Asch frowned at this predicament; he was growing tired of the hospital room.

There was something he couldn't let go of though, something that Luke had said before he was knocked out.

'This was Guy's original plan? Just who is Guy?'

Asch would defiantly be looking into that, he did remember Guy and Van talking quite a lot when he was growing up, and since Van revealed himself to be working against Luke and his friends, he could only assume Guy had known about Van's intentions.

Guy had said something about Hod once, when Asch was still Luke, he would have to look into that.


	7. Sleep

**Sleep.**

A/N: I just posted my other story that I will be working on alongside this one! But remember guys, we can be friends, even if we see other people. Just drop me a line every now and then :D (Which means review me? Yes. Please do.)

Look up Switch from my profile or something if you want some good ole' Sora/Roxas love.

* * *

_When the replica and the original move, and act with one common goal, most commonly survival, it is known as the shared conscious. In the extremely rare case of perfect isofones, the shared conscious is a state of mind in which they will retreat into to preserve each other's body and mind. The perfect isofones can escape death in even the most harrowing situations, if this extremely rare process is activated willingly by both parties. _

_The disappearance syndrome of the original, which has only been studied in lesser beings such as the cheagle, could potentially be stopped, or even reversed. The original will begin to generate a large quantity of fonons to substantiate the replica, because as their lifelines run short, the survival instinct will become most prominent. It is unsure whether this state of mind is reversible, as no human replications have resulted in perfect isofones.  
_

_But standing before me are two of Lorelei's isofones, identical copies in almost every matter. One lies dying on a hospital bed, while the other's strength is returning. Could it possibly be that this is the after effects of the shared conscious? If unsuccessful, the replica will slowly lose it's grip on reality, and exist in an empty shell, located in a world it cannot interact with? Luke had stopped coming back to us, and Asch says Lorelei is trying to tell him something, but the messages are all broken._

_My observations prove to me that there is some survival instinct in place here, as Luke's life force disappears, the further away Asch moves. The original says there is a vibration that his own fonons can hear, and if he leaves, it will become so loud that Van will attempt to use it to kill thousands of people at once. But reducing Luke to a lifeless shell, maybe he hopes to have created the ultimate weapon, even better then his original Asch and his hyperresonance…_

Jade closed his observation log, after reading over his notes and drawing no meaning whatsoever. Asch had moved his chair closer to Luke's bed, his strength great enough to produce enough fonons to potentially lift Luke from the coma he had retreated into. It had been four days since the Original had been able to open a mind-link. Four days since the blood in Luke's lungs had been cleared out, and four days since the last signs of negative progress.

"His body is healing perfectly." The doctor had said.

"But what about his mind?" Asch had snarled. "His body could be in the beast shape of it's life, but he isn't moving, he isn't in here anymore."

Jade sighed, adjusting his glasses and checking the time. It was three-thirty, in the morning. Asch and himself were the only ones still awake, except for the clinic's night staff. The necromancer had sent word to Emperor Peony of their predicament, hoping his old friend could potentially do something to alleviate burden they placed on this meager staff.

There also was the problem of moving Luke. Asch had attempted to reach him many times, this hour. Sometimes he would drive himself into the shared consciousness, only to discover it was his own. Luke was no longer there.

"Get some sleep, Necromancer." Asch flatly called out. Jade smirked at the name he had grown accustomed to referring to him by. Asch could pretend he was only doing this to prevent the nonstop screaming of Luke's fonons in his mind, but Jade knew that deep down, Asch was very worried as to where Luke had gone.

"Do you think when Van stabbed him, he found some way to take Luke, away from Luke?" Jade exchanged his seat by the door for one on the other side of Asch. His red eyes met Asch's bright green a crossed Luke's sleeping form.

Asch narrowed his eyes, and tried once more to reach Luke, wherever he was. "How could he have done that, and where would he have put him? I'd still be able to reach him…"

Jade would have responded with something sarcastic, or inappropriate, had it been anyone other then the Original of the only perfect isofone, Luke. "I do believe he felt a little bit sorry for Luke, and maybe locked him up somewhere inside of his mind, or maybe yours, it's rather traumatizing knowing your body can be used to destroy entire cities in a matter of seconds."

"Van wanted me to destroy Luke from this shared consciousness, and use his body to destroy Lorelei."

Asch confessed the one secret he had been keeping, and hoped that maybe Jade would be able to help. He was growing tired, and even when he slept, he was still exhausted. He was constantly searching, even in his sleep for Luke, or Lorelei. It was the most alone he had ever felt, even after Van had replaced him with Luke, in his own home.

"And would you have done it? Had you and Luke not spent all those nights conversing with one another?" Jade's glasses caught the glare from the overhead lights, and Asch found himself staring into the white glasses of the man a crossed from him.

"Had I not been pestered all those night by him, yes, I would have killed him in an instant, I felt I would probably get my life back." Asch placed one of his gloved hands over Luke's heart, and tilted his head down, showing his obvious shame for admitting such a thing.

Jade's eyes trailed the path of Asch's arm to Luke's heart, and watched as he entered the shared consciousness once more. "I'm going to find him." Asch mumbled, his concentration elsewhere. "I'll bring him back…"

Lorelei responded to Asch's heroism, and joined him in the realm of his Isofones shared mind. Asch opened his eyes somewhere new, somewhere different then the aqua nothingness he had been finding himself in.

"This is… my home…"

The Fabre manor was Luke and Asch's most comfortable destination, but it was not real in this realm, and Luke had lost sight of that.

Lorelei felt a great need to aid his Isofones, and thus created a physical form for himself.

"What a strange fox…" Asch mumbled, as the animal sat and waited for him at the opening gate to his home. There were no soldiers protecting the entrance, but when Asch turned around to see if one was coming, he saw the green abyss he had entered from, and made a mental note to return this way.

The orange fox flicked it's tail before Asch entered the gates to his home, and stopped the redhead from progressing any further.

'Luke is in here, but he has remained for too long. If you can not convince him to return with you, I fear he will remain here forever. If you stay too long, you will be trapped as well…'

The fox then dashed off into the manor, squeezing between partially opened doors and vanishing while Asch stood, shocked.

"Lorelei is here too…" Asch whispered. "And he is helping us…"

At that moment, Asch felt guilty for ever agreeing to use Lorelei's gift to destroy him, all he wanted was the happiness of his isofones, even if it meant he himself must go.


	8. Pathways

**Pathways.**

* * *

"Wow, that's creepy Jade…" Anise had crawled up on to the hospital bed, and steadied by Jade, she was able to see into Asch's half-opened eyes. "You can see what he is seeing right now, it's the Fabre household!"

Tear and Natalia had been consoling Guy when they heard that Anise could see what Asch was seeing, and Tear was curious is Luke's eyes would show them the same. Jade pondered the answer while he slowly reached for Luke's face, keeping his eyes locked on Asch's downtrodden gaze.

Guy made a gasping sound from the second hospital bed, as he watched Asch's free hand snap out and grab Jade's wrist, holding on rather painfully. "Is Guy in this altered world as well?" Jade choked out, while wrenching his hand away from Asch's unknowing grip.

"No.." Guy answered for himself. "But… His eyes are staring at me, and I can see Luke staring back."

Tear made a move to embrace Guy, to let him know everything would alright once Luke was returned to them. Natalia shook her head and Tear flinched. Guy pulled himself up and off of the bed he had hidden himself in, and slowly shuffled his way to Luke's bedside. Jade had quickly move away, Anise in tow, as somehow Asch and Luke had been able to contact him while he writhed in guilt.

"We have to leave here, and soon." Guy whispered, the voice he heard was growing louder as he neared the pair. He tentatively motioned to place his hand atop Asch's, and received no response. When Guy's glove rested lightly on top of Asch's, he closed his eyes and let the world of their shared conscious become visible to him.

He could see fragments of what had happened, and relayed them to Asch, as Lorelei directed.

"_Luke entered the Fabre manor four days ago, seeking an escape from pain and Van, who haunted his nightmarish sleep. Van is riding on the hope that Luke has become too much a part of the imaginary manor, that the door back to his body will have closed, and Asch will have to destroy Lorelei, from within, to free himself."_

Guy backed away, breaking the connection he had been pulled into, and continued to move backwards until the backs of his legs touched his bed.

"What happened Guy?!" Natalia cried out, cautiously gripping on to his shoulders.

Guy watched as Asch's eyes closed, another exit from the manor closing. "Ever after I stabbed him… Luke still trusts me…"

"It appears we still have a small glimmer of hope that this whole ordeal can be put into the past." Jade contemplated out loud.

"Does that mean that Asch-" Anise tugged on the colonel's shirt hem, hoping that maybe she was right in her assumption.

"Yes Anise, Lorelei just used Guy as a medium to extract information from Luke and deliver it to Asch, something Asch is unable to do himself while searching for him in the artificial Fabre manor." Jade pushed his glasses up and rubbed his eyes. "I'm far too old for this."

'They are all as much my children as I will ever have, and knowing I can't help still stings as if they were my own…' Jade sighed and adjusted his glasses. "Come Anise, I do believe we should be getting some rest, tomorrow we will know is Asch has been successful or not." The necromancer led the yawning Fon Master Guardian to the next room, where the hospital staff had courteously set up small cots to accommodate the large group.

Tear and Natalia followed closely behind Jade and Anise, but Natalia stopped and turned around the face Guy. "Guy, will you stay and look over them? It's been a long week for all of us, everyone needs sleep, but Luke trusts you, wherever he is…"

Guy smiled, for the first time since the incident, and nodded. It would be a long night, but he was ready. He was ready to help pull Asch and Luke from the false Fabre household, when, not if, Asch was ready.

* * *

"Hey Luke! Luke?" Asch traveled through the halls of his old home, nothing had apparently changed very much, a few changes here and there. "This is still home…" Asch whispered under his breath.

The orange fox had continued it's leisurely trot through the gardens to the small room Luke had claimed for his own. As Asch was about to throw open the door, Luke opened it from the other side, and charged out. Asch was speechless as he stood there, in his previous glory. Luke's hair was still long, his clothing still pristine, but most importantly, his stomach bore no marks of the fatal stab wound.

Luke stood for a second, then jumped down the stairs and through Asch, as if he wasn't standing there waiting for him. There was a strong chill that Asch could feel, straight into his bones. His body quivered as Luke continued to sprint into the house, presumably to meet with the mother and father that aren't really there, and to talk with the servants that don't exist, 'Just like I don't exist to him…'

The orange fox did not turn and follow the Luke that walked through Asch, but instead nudged the door open a little wider, to show Asch the true horror that lay within.

The real Luke, the one they had come for, was bleeding heavily from the wound to his stomach, and the various mental scars he had endured from the nightmares following Akzeriuth.

The thing that bothered Asch the most was that this Luke, the real Luke, was lying on his bed, in a world apart from the manor. He was locked in a cage composed of red energy, presumably by the false Luke, the Luke that was happy living in the fantasy projection of his life prior.

His Luke, the dying Luke, opened his dulling eyes, and was shocked to see Asch standing there.

"Asch!" The bleeding stopped and Luke quickly pushed himself off the bed, to the red bars of his prison. "You have to leave!"

Asch was surprised by Luke's demand, but he refused to budge. "I can't leave you here. Then what? Return to your friends and tell them I let you slip away?"

"No, that's not it at all!" Luke sounded very frantic at Asch's arrival, but he reached through the bars and accepted Asch's offered hand.

"That Luke, the one that wanders around here as if there are still people here, and we are still in Baticul, he was created when Van stabbed me with that sword. That Luke was able to keep me alive, even though I should have died, but it also imprisons me here. If you kill that Luke, I'll be free, but there is a strong chance I may die." Luke backed away from the bars and watched the emotions play a crossed Asch's face.

The orange fox had slipped between the bars, and hopped into Luke's lap. Asch could have sworn the fox nodded, as if to confirm his current train of thought.

"I won't leave you here Luke; we are getting out of here alive."


	9. Lorelei

**Lorelei**

A soft knock on the door caught the drowsy Jade's attention. He was reading over old research notes in an attempt to discover another way to potentially use Guy to rescue the two of them.

Asch and Luke had hardly moved, and occasionally, just to calm his racing mind, Jade would compare Luke's pulse to Asch's, only to find that they still beat in unison. "Interesting…"

Jade had changed into some more… suiting clothes, a complete doctor's uniform, that way he could tend to Luke and Asch's medical needs while their minds were elsewhere. He carefully opened the door, checking to see if the guest was who he believed it to be.

"Ah, Mieu, I have been excepting you." Jade opened the door enough for the small cheagle and his sorcerers ring to fit in the opening. "Did you complete the task I had given you?"

Mieu had been pulling behind him, a small envelope, with the Fon Master's seal. "Is master alright? Can I see him?"

Jade picked up the letter from Ion and tucked inside his doctor's coat. "Of course you can see him; I need to check on the two of them anyway. Let us go Mieu."

Jade bent down and Mieu eagerly hopped upon his shoulder. Jade took a deep breath and pushed aside the curtain separating their makeshift sleeping room from the hospital room. He would have to draw more blood from Asch in the coming hour, and attach it to be delivered into Luke. The pale tone of Luke's skin had been replaced with the same unnatural glow Asch's own skin had taken, as if their bodies were being held in the balance between life and death.

"Mieuuu…" The cheagle jumped from Jade's shoulder to the hospital bed, but Asch did not respond to the intruding animal. Instead, he remained motionless as Mieu toddled a crossed Luke's unresponsive form, and up Asch's arm. Mieu settled himself on Asch's shoulder, the one that ended with his hand over Luke's heart. "I'll wait here Jade, lest they wake up…"

"It's alright to be scared Mieu, but everything will be alright, he has Asch looking out for him." Jade's attention shifted to the wound in Luke's abdomen. The infection had ceded from the tireless work of the hospitals staff, but the wound itself would not close. 'We still have time, Asch, even if you must create your own exit from that realm…'

Jade once again felt the desire to check their pulses, and flipped on the machinery next to Luke's bed. The steady beat of his heart matched the pulse Jade could feel from Asch's wrist. An idea struck the colonel, and he popped the spear out from his wrist.

"I little prick is all you will feel…" He whispered to no one in particular, cutting open a single suture.

* * *

One of the red bars surrounding Luke's weak form vanished, and he quickly raced to the bars.

Asch had been rummaging through the room for some clues on how to destroy the foe his blade had no effect on when Luke's sudden movements caught his attention. He joined Luke at the cage bars, and attempted to pull Luke out.

Luke backed away from the bars, realizing what had happened on the outside world. "If you pull me through these bars, you can escape here, but the next instant that other me gains the opportunity, I will be returned to this prison, and I'm afraid you can only return so many times."

"Then what made on of these bars vanish now? There has got to be an explanation for that!" Asch reached in the gap created and attempted to grab Luke once more, but the younger Fabre keep moving just slightly out of reach.

"Jade cut one of the sutures holding the wound on my stomach together. Because the curse is in it's final stages, those sutures are it's power, the more Jade cuts, the closer to death I fall, and easier it will be to eliminate the other me.' Luke tossed Asch the left handed blade from around his waist and settled back upon his bed. "Kill him, if you can kill him I'll take my life into my own hands and leave with you."

Asch sighed in defeat and wordlessly left Luke in the prison of his mind. Van sure had outdone himself this time…

The other Luke, the one that had been the byproduct of Van's curse upon both Guy and Luke, was waiting in the courtyard for Asch's arrival, sword in hand.

"Just who are you?" Asch called out, and Luke's doppelganger smirked in response. Luke, the fake, fell into battle stance, challenging Asch to do the same.

"The curse is already weakening with those sutures being cut, but I will continue to carry out Van's orders until either Luke or myself, expire."

"And what do the stitches keeping Luke's wound closed have to do with you?" Asch drew Luke's sword, it felt different then the one he was issued as a God General, but it was familiar all the same.

The look-a-like began to circle Asch, keeping their eyes locked when Asch repeated the notion. "You are Asch, aren't you? This boy's Original. Van did say you would come to spoil the fun. Well guess what Original, I'm a replica of you too!"

Asch flinched at the statement, giving the fake a chance to attempt a fang blade.

"You don't exist in the real world; you aren't worthy to consider yourself my replica." Asch experimentally swung the sword Luke had given him; he managed to come within inches of the Fake's left hand, his dominant hand.

"But!" The fake cried out. "Once I have trapped you and Luke here, I can take over the empty shell Luke will leave behind, and carry out his orders. Use the fonon vibrations and kill as many as possible, under the guise of the noble's son, Luke fon Fabre. Those sutures are what keep me in here, as well as Luke inside that cage, but as long as Jade keeps meddling from the outside, one of us is going to get out."

"And it won't be you." Luke called out, from the doorway to his room.

The fake looked concerned at Luke's appearance outside of the prison he had designated for him. "You idiot! The only way out of this world will close now that you have so foolishly attempted to escape!"

Asch took the opportunity and tossed Luke's blade towards the fake. The blade pierced the skin on his upper thigh, long enough for Luke to escape towards the panic-stricken Asch.

"Now what! That was the only weapon we had! I wasted it giving you an opportunity to escape!" Asch pulled the injured Luke behind him, and prepared to face the fake unarmed, when the mysterious orange fox darted from inside Luke's room and shirted forms. A large orange tiger replaced the fox, as it continued it's sprint towards the fake.

Asch recognized a potentially disturbing scene was about to follow, but also noticed something different. "That fox is Lorelei's presence in our shared conscious…"

The tiger roared, proudly, before attempting to maul the false Luke.

Lorelei's final words to Luke and Asch hung in the air as they raced around the manor, searching frantically for exits. "My gift to you is life… Free me from the core, my isofones…"

The golden glow of hyperresonance enveloped both Luke and Asch, and the manor around them disappeared. Asch unconsciously pulled Luke closer, knowing he didn't want to be alone when they escaped from this world.


	10. Mysterious

**Mysterious**

**A/N: **I'm really out of it right now, and I hate to admit it, but I keep seeing brief flashes of things. I slept a good 8 hours last night, but this strange fatigue is not leaving. Hopefully Word can catch all the mistakes I make in this installment, because I surely can't at this moment. I need to write it before I lose it though, it's been stewing for some time.

* * *

Jade cringed when the sutures holding Luke's wound closed dissolved. He retracted his spear, and considered rolling Luke over to examine his back, but Asch's firm hand upon Luke's heart prevented any movement of the two. 

The beating of Luke's heart picked up speed, and Jade became rather intrigued. He tested Asch's own heart rate to discover that the two had deviated from one another's.

"Master is returning! He is alright!" Mieu eagerly bounced from Asch's shoulder to Luke's chest, to await the awakening of his master.

"For now at least." Jade grimly studied the effects of broken sutures. If Asch had been correct in his unwilling spill of information, the curse that held Luke's life just above death had been broken, by Lorelei itself. As part of Van's plan, a dead Luke was better then Luke, Lorelei, and Asch, and the curse was the perfect bait to trap them all in the world with no exit.

Asch's eyes pulled tightly shut, before quickly flying open. He took an impossibly large breath, and leaned back in his chair. He was obviously weary from the prolonged entrapment in a place he shouldn't have to enter without external forces.

"Lorelei…"Asch whispered, still trying to regain his grip on reality. "Still there…"

"Is Luke there too?" Jade hastily made sure Luke was still alive, as the boy in the hospital bed made no move to represent life. Luke continued to breathe, but consciousness refused to return.

"He came with me; Lorelei induced a dual-order hyperresonance as he destroyed the curse, to insure our safety." Asch watched the heart monitor with fear, as Luke's heart rate began to slow. "Will he be alright Jade?"

Jade thought it was quite a pity that the first time he would have a chance to thoroughly examine all the unpredicted effects of fomicry, the replica isofone would end in a comatose state. "It appears the few things holding him to this world are gone. Lorelei will leave the shared consciousness after his work is done, to wait in the core, and the sutures that bound the curse within him have dissolved of their own accord."

"So…?" Asch worriedly grasped Luke's wrist, to feel his pulse for himself.

"He is going to die Asch. We can restitch his wound on both sides, but he should have die minutes after the impact of the sword. All of this has truly been in vain." Jade took off his glasses placed them in the front pocket of his doctor's coat. "Unless you can work miracles Asch, he will be gone by morning."

Asch tightened his grip on both Luke's wrist and the side of his uniform. "If he dies, I swear to god I will kill Van Grants myself…"

The slowing beat of Luke's heart brought a sense of urgency to both Jade and Asch's attention. Asch recklessly attempted to open connections with his replica, but each time he was rewarded with nothing, Luke was unable to respond to him. "Draw more of my blood and deliver it to himself, my blood fonons are much stronger then his."

"I drew more a half hour ago, any more and you will join Luke on a hospital bed."

"Is there anything we can do? Wake Tear and Natalia! The curse has been lifted, they can deliver seventh fonons into his body to help repair the damage!" Asch released Luke's wrist, the slowing pulse a harsh reality he was unwilling to accept.

Jade frowned, but he agreed to attempt Asch's frantic wishes for Luke's life. He left the room and reappeared with the tired and concerned forms of Tear and Natalia. Upon realizing the importance of Asch's demands, they quickly went to work, pouring as many fonons into Luke's body as possible.

Asch felt great relief when Luke's heart rate slowed its descent, but he felt frantic once more when it didn't stop its slowing all together.

"Don't you dare die on me!" Asch yelled angrily at his replica. "Not after everything I've done for you!"

But Jade knew his screaming was in vain. Morning was approaching; the life-giving rays of the sun had never been so hated by Jade, as they continued their stretch a crossed the city.

* * *

Luke was floating in the darkness of a place he was not familiar with, all around him was nothing but black, and his head hurt, even though he was pretty sure he hadn't made it back to his body yet. 

The redhead suddenly sat up from the floor that was never really there, he looked around for an escape, but could detect nothing but the faint whispers of a voice he couldn't identify.

A bright light to Luke's right suddenly lit up, and he looked to see if maybe Asch or Lorelei had come to retrieve him from the nothing, as they had from his prison.

"Luke… it's your family, aren't you tired or adventuring?"

The bright light appeared to have developed the voice of his mother, and Luke wanted to get closer to discover if she really was there. 'Maybe this has all been a bad dream? Bu your dreams can't hurt you…'

The faint whispers became more frantic, and more intense headaches began to plague Luke's mind.

"Why don't you come home with us? Life will go back to normal…"

The voice of his father now joined Luke's mother in their call for Luke. The idea of returning home was so appealing to Luke, but he noticed the closer he got to his parents, the louder the whispering became, and soon a tug on his wrist attempted to prevent him from going any further.

"Leave them all behind Luke, we only want you back, safe with us!"

Suddenly, the aggravated voice of Asch replaced the worried whispers, and Asch's voice in his head replaced the angry headaches. "Don't you die on me Luke!"

Luke quickly understood where he was, and the white appealing light was death calling to him. He turned and attempted to respond to Asch's calls, but his body was beginning the fade. The closer he got to the light, which was pulling him against his bodies will, the more of him vanished.

He could hear Jade ordering Natalia and Tear to continue their rapid healing of his body, and Asch was yelling obscenities as more of Luke was absorbed by death itself.

A new voice joined the frenzy on the outside, and Luke was able to pull away enough to stop the absorption of his body.

"Ion… help me…" Luke whimpered, bracing himself against the sweet call of his family, and the promise of his old, carefree life.

The Daathic fonic artes Ion used were a blessing to Luke's tired soul, but he was afraid to let go and allow ion to guide him home, the light was pulling him closer still, and even after he felt himself become fully engulfed, the unified cries of Ion and Asch, and the warmth of the seventh fonons as they soothed his soul, held his determination to return strong.

* * *

The long beep of the heart rate monitor was the one sound Asch had hoped he wouldn't hear. Not yet at least. 

With two fonists pouring every ounce of their strength into his very dead body, and one Fon Master reaching out for his soul, Asch was positive they would recover him.

Jade looked away from the scene in front of him, even after all the work they had done, they had lost Luke.

But the thing that bothered Jade the most was the fact that Ion still attempted to bring his soul back.

"He isn't gone yet." Ion said defiantly. He called upon the fonons of the two seventh fonists next to him, pleading that they didn't give up their efforts just yet, Luke was still in there, waiting for them to find him once more.

"Even with Lorelei's assistance, Luke's attempt to escape the curse prematurely left him too weak to return with you Asch, but even though his body has stopped functioning, the return of his soul may be enough to revive him, and death has not claimed that quite yet." Ion looked pleadingly at Asch, hoping that he would understand what Ion was implying.

"I need your help." Luke's weary voice echoed inside of Asch's mind.

"He isn't dead yet." Asch agreed. "But he accepted this death the moment I freed him."

Jade abruptly picked up on the hints Ion had been dropping towards Asch, and finally understood what Ion was implying.

"Actually Asch, I believe it is quite the opposite."


	11. Mirror

**Mirror**

A/N: I feel weird after just killing Luke.

* * *

Tear and Natalia's bodies were at their limit, and their minders were very confused. Very clearly, Luke had died, his heart had stopped beating. But in a fit of rage, Asch broke the heart rate monitor. It no longer made noise, but the flat green line it displayed was a cruel reminder that Asch had failed.

Tear glanced at Mieu, and something strange glowing in the cheagle's fur. She wanted to let Ion know Mieu had something that might be of importance inscribed in his fur, but her body couldn't handle anymore strain. Tear slowly closed her eyes and fell back. Guy caught her and carried her back to the main sleeping room, so she could recover, but he couldn't deny his curiosity about what she had been so interested in on Mieu.

Upon returning, Guy promptly examined Mieu's fur, the traces of what appeared to be Fonic Glyphs, depicting instructions for something Guy was unable to understand.

"Hey Ion, look at these glyphs! What do they mean?" Guy picked up a startled Mieu from next to Luke's head, and deposited him directly in Ion's line of vision, to prevent him from prematurely ending his current bout of artes.

"I am a little preoccupied at the moment." Ion politely responded, preparing once more to cast his less strenuous healing artes, when he noticed something odd. Asch had picked himself up from whatever slump he had fallen into, to examine Guy's discovery.

"It's a spell, detailing how to communicate with one who has not accepted their death just yet. It looks like it was left by Lorelei…" Asch glanced at the heart rate monitor, hoping that maybe this discovery would be the one to revive his fallen replica.

Asch was no stranger to feeling strange things, over the past few days he had gone from moderately not caring about Luke and what happened to him, to a genuine concern, where he even risked his life to enter Luke's prison. Lorelei had done his fair share of attempts at reviving the replica too, Asch wasn't about to let all of his hard work go to waste, there was still so much to learn about Lorelei and Luke and their connection as his isofones.

"Asch, do you have anything you want me to relay to Luke? I can open a mind-link with Luke, and maybe I can get him to wake up enough to escape the clutches of death." Ion winced when Natalia promptly passed out, Guy carrying her to rest with Tear.

"This is our last hope, then." Asch said flatly.

"Ah, but Lorelei must have known all of this would happen, yes?" Jade was trying to be optimistic, fitting many of the puzzle pieces together as he spoke.

"He must have been aware of Luke's weaknesses, and left us a clue on how to finish retrieving him. It's strange that Lorelei went to such great lengths to preserve Luke's life though, he even protected him from his imminent death…" Jade began to notice the small signs of life Luke gave off. His lips slightly parted to aid in the exchange of air, and the small spasms in the still line of the heart monitor, yes, Luke was still alive, by his sheer will to survive.

Ion felt like laughing at the colonel's discovery, it was a great relief for him and Asch, to know that they hadn't lost the battle just yet.

"So Lorelei left the glyph for me to read? Is that why you called me Jade? You must have figured this entire thing out!" Ion excitedly began to recite the glyph, and Asch narrowed his eyes.

"How come you didn't-"

"Actually Asch, it's quite the opposite of what Ion has said. I called Ion because perhaps a friendly face was all that we needed to bring a man back from the darkest reaches of death itself." Jade and Ion shared brief laughter, before Ion completely immersed himself in locating Luke's soul within death's grasp. He was an orange glow among the emptiness of death, his soul protected within some sort barrier.

"Luke? Hey Luke…" Ion called out. Luke appeared to be sleeping as he drifted aimlessly through the abyss of death.

The orange barrier increased it's intensity, in defense of it's occupant, and also as a beacon for the Fon Master.

"We have healed your physical self, if you are ready to return to your body, Lorelei." Ion wanted to thank the embodiment of the seventh fonon personally, but he was aware that Lorelei's priorities were protecting his isofone from the clutches of an early death.

Luke's eyes opened in startled recognition of the voice calling out to him. Ion had come to retrieve him! He was excited overly excited with the hope of finally returning to his body, to return to living again, but he was also wary, as trusting in familiarity had got him caught in the abyss of death.

"Asch has got a message for you, he says…" Ion's voice cut out, and Asch's voice replaced his, opening a new mind link with his replica.

"If you die Luke, I will kill you myself! I worked so hard to bring you back, and I will never let you forget how much you let me down by dying Luke!"

Luke smiled, his eyes brimming with his unshed tears.

"If you more towards the darkness, away from where you are now, I'll reach in and punch your empty head into existence, got it?" Asch was having a hard time keeping his emotions in check. Contact with the dead felt so much more empty then contact with the living, he knew Luke couldn't respond where he was, dead men tell no tales, as the old saying went.

One glimmering tear stain on Asch's check was all that remained, he waited for the connection to fade, but Luke held onto the verbally abusive Asch.

Ion felt himself become overcome with both happiness and sorrow, watching Asch call out for his replica, to demand life from the dead. Had it been any other two, Ion would have called them crazy, but Luke and Asch were capable of crazy things.

Anise watched the scene with interest. Had she been any person, other then Anise Tatlin, and had she been watching this scene, she would have swore Asch was crying out for his dying brother, the way he had crawled atop the bed. Asch placed his hands upon Luke's shoulders, and his knees rested on the hospital bed below him. Asch had even let his hair down; the similarities between the two gave the appearance of twins.

'Perhaps, they aren't a Replica and an Original now…' Anise thought, happily to herself. 'Perhaps, they can finally get over their pasts…'

"Luke, you will never know anger if you don't come out of this alive, I will kill you Luke. I'll kill you for giving us all this false hope, if you don't come out alive." Asch felt another of his tears escape. For the first time in years, he truly felt like he could cry, he had a good enough reason.

Asch's connection with the dead had slowly been phased out, and he could only hope it was because Luke had heeded his warnings about making it out alive.

Guy had been the one to point out the infractions on the heart monitor. The straight line had been broken by Luke's heart beat; slowly, it was gaining speed to reach a steady and healthy beat.

Asch felt as if the entire world around him slowed when Luke's closed eyes tightened. He tried to contain his excitement, when one green eye timidly peeked up at the identical green eyes above him.

"Asch..."

His voice was raspy from the week of neglect, but he was back, he was alive.

"I missed you."


	12. Serenity

**Serenity**

A/N: We are getting close to the end here, better make these good times last!

* * *

Guy stood outside the clinic room with his back firmly pressed against the wall. He was shaking, but he kept reminding himself that everything was alright now, no one had _really_ died. But Guy's pep talking wasn't enough to make him _move._ He hoped that maybe, Luke would walk out that door and pretend everything was okay, or maybe Asch would drag him in to see the newly conscious Fabre boy, but nothing happened. The curtain remained pulled closed, Tear and Natalia were still very unconscious from the exertion Ion had asked them to undergo, and the others were still with Luke, with Guy's best friend.

Jade pulled the curtain back and stepped out of the room. Guy refrained from peaking in to see if Luke needed him, knowing he would see him and ask him to come in, but Guy's guilt was still too great.

"He asked for you, you know." Jade said, indifferently. He removed the white latex gloves he had been wearing when he pronounced Luke officially alive again. 'At least they aren't covered in blood…' Guy couldn't help but notice how Jade kept looking at him, but he had a good idea as to why.

"I don't know Jade…"

"All you can think of is the negative of what this little trip has caused? Don't you think anything good might have come out of it?" Ion joined Jade in the adjoining room, along with the uncomfortable Guy.

Anise popped out from behind Ion and frowned. Guy was still as nervous of his best friend as ever. Guy was now not only afraid of women, but the guy who had helped him cope with all these years.

"I have a secret Guy!" Anise sang, hoping to catch the young man's attention. "I can't tell it to you until you do something for me though!!"

Guy frowned and decided he would talk to Luke later, he was tired from an exhausting morning, and perhaps a little sword training would put him in a more confident mood.

* * *

A comfortable silence fell over Asch and Luke as the remaining party members all filed out of the room, discreetly trying to leave the two alone, in the most obvious manner possible.

Asch had taken to reflecting a little over what had just happened, and Luke, though tired, was fighting the urge to close his eyes. Because, you never know when it might be seven days before you can open them again. You never know if you might encounter death the next time you escape a bad dream.

Luke moved his hand up to rest on his forehead, and Asch watched nervously. It was the arm with the IV, that just so happened to be delivering his blood into his replica's body. He never really enjoyed getting his blood drawn, and wouldn't appreciate having to do it once more.

"Be careful" Asch cautiously unwound the various IV tubes and examined Luke's wound for signs of healing. "You haven't even begun to heal yet."

Luke sighed in response. He felt like what he was experiencing at that very moment was as far from reality as possible, even stranger then his encounter with death, and stranger yet then Asch's ability to bring him back (with Ion's help, of course.)

"Asch, why did you save me?" Luke slid his palm down from his forehead to cover his left eye, the pain receding due to the aid of the overwhelming number of healing seventh fonons in his body.

"How did you manage to survive death Luke? I don't know I can say to make you believe I did it because I cared, but truthfully I came because it's what our shared conscious demanded of me, my protection and my care." Asch ran his hand through his bangs, but they fell back into his eyes the moment he let them go.

Luke couldn't help but smile, he knew Asch had changed in this rite of passage, together they had entered a stage of their life where imminent death was not looming over their heads, where they were free to search for Lorelei together, and upon his freedom, Luke knew he would wish for life to stay the same.

"You risked death, or even worse, entrapment in the prison of your mind to save me, did the shared conscious do that too?"

Asch was a bit taken aback by Luke's straightforwardness; he was determined to make Asch admit that he missed Luke, like Luke had missed him.

"Well, Luke, no, I did that on my own. It's eerie to see someone who looks so much like yourself, someone who is you on another level, lie there dying." Asch reached his gloved hand out to touch Luke's hair, watching to see if Luke would flinch away. "I guess you could say, I missed you."

Luke closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of Asch's fingers combing through his messy hair. He placed his hand atop Asch's, and brought it down to cup the side of his face.

Asch was a little confused by Luke's overwhelming display of affection towards his Original, but a glimmering tear trailed down Luke's cheek, and Asch understood.

"You have no idea how much I missed the comforting feeling of someone just showing you they cared, to feel someone's touch, I was so alone Asch."

Luke opened his eyes, and Asch made no move to pull away. "I'm here for you." Asch whispered softly. "You gave me my life back, the day Van placed that curse upon you."

Luke's innocence, his true eight year old self shone through, when Asch smiled to confirm that Luke truly was appreciated, and that Asch really did care.

Using the thumb of his glove, Asch brushed the stray tears away, Luke didn't have to be alone anymore.

And their bodies glowed a soft orange, Lorelei agreeing that being together an happy was tan even greater gift, then his gift of life.


	13. Memory

Memories

A/N: Almost there! We have had a fun run, haven't we?

(P.S. Lucky number thirteen! Leave me a lovely review please. The number thirteen demands it.)

* * *

Guy gathered his courage and pushed open the curtain to Luke's room, only to find the occupants were asleep. Asch had fallen asleep in the chair he had occupied during the duration of the stay, and Luke had attempted to curl around on his side, but Guy could only imagine how mad Asch had gotten when the new (and curse free!) sutures had been strained.

The curtain ruffled once more, and Jade joined Guy in the room. Jade simply smiled and began removing some of the various IV's in Luke arm. The smaller redhead flinched at the unexpected feelings, but Asch was the one to awaken.

"Can you do me a favor Jade?" Asch was groggy from large amounts of unnecessary sleep, but something had been plaguing his thoughts from the moment he felt his strength return to him, the moment he watched Luke's heart stop beating.

Jade narrowed his eyes as he removed the final IV and replaced it with a cotton ball and a bandage. "I suppose I could, what do you need?"

Nothing made sense to Asch, the rate at which Luke's body had stop separating, Asch's strength retuning, it was as if the two of them were traveling back in time. Of course, no one knew about how quickly Luke was going to fade away in the coming months, but Asch had been made aware of it, another one of Van's attempts to make Asch feel like he must help destroy the score that predicted his coming death.

"Will you compare Luke's fonon levels to mine?" Asch watched the curiosity spread a crossed Jade's face, but Jade was a sharp man and quickly understood the situation.

"Are you implying that before all of this…" Jade had never fully witness an event known as the big bang, but it appeared he would have to wait yet. If Asch was correct in his assumptions…

"It feels as if I'm receiving more fonons, and I can detect increased levels from Luke as well, it might be from all of the healing fonons, but I believe his strength is returning at such a fast rate because his own seventh fonons are… Bonding more tightly then separating." Asch removed his glove, and Luke's as well, offering both hands to be tested for fonon activity.

Guy was a bit overwhelmed by the talk relating to replicas and separating fonons, and decided that a quick and easy escape would be best.

Jade had decided he needed help in the activities, and called Anise to block Guy's escape.

"Unless you can not be afraid of me really fast, you are going to help the colonel." Anise grinned, ever since Luke's revival, she had felt immeasurable happiness, and seeing that Asch didn't hate Luke as much as he pretended.

Asch felt his mouth twitch in a sort of half smile. He knew the Curse Slot had been the reason that drove Guy to stab Luke, but he always was very aware of how a Curse Slot works. No matter how much Guy may have changed when Luke was returned, Asch remembered Guy the way he was.

Though Asch may have been a little apprehensive, Jade happily accepted extra help in processing the Fabre boys' request. Asch, the real and Original Luke fon Fabre, was now carefully calculating his movements, and this was the same Asch he had been responsible for before the kidnapping.

"What do you need my help with?" Guy nervously inched to the other side of Luke's hospital bed, to stay out of Asch's reach.

Anise smiled in satisfaction, and decided that she and Ion had a bit of catching up to do. She was wondering how her dear Fon Master was getting along without her.

* * *

Jade removed the sensors from both Fabre boys arms, the smaller (and much younger) Luke was slowly waking up, after fighting with Asch about rolling onto his side. The larger (and much older) Asch believed that Luke must choose, either his back or his stomach, because even though Luke was still in prime physical condition, the stress on his wound would increase tension on the (not cursed) sutures.

"It appears that you two are beyond stable, and rising. The influx of seventh fonons, I expect, will level off and continue to stably exist until something incredibly drastic happens. And by drastic, I mean that one of you dies and the other cannot recover you, as we have learned is possible, or the shared conscious somehow loses the ability to draw in seventh fonons from the surrounding elements." Jade cleaned off his glasses, before replacing them on his face.

"But I project that neither of those possibilities will be occurring soon, as long as the fonons in the world continue to exist; you will be able to continue to live."

Asch frowned, he was essentially immortal now? He hardly believed that, and what about when Lorelei needed to be freed? No doubt, this gift had come from Lorelei himself, but what was it's purpose?

Luke groaned from his uncomfortable position, being forced to lie on his back from Asch's firm hand. He could hear Guy talking with Jade, and he wanted to talk to Guy more then anything at that possible moment, but he excused himself to check on Natalia and Tear, just before Luke was able to protest his departure.

"Stop thinking such complex things." Luke moaned. His body was jittering from the influx of healing fonons, and the bonds of his own fonons repairing from their forceful vibrations. His mind was slow though, the way Asch's mind worked was too quick for him to process, but he hoped he would just get used to it. This new connection that had been opened was one that couldn't be closed, as Luke had found out when he was woken from his dreams by Asch's worry about the current events and their future plans.

"Hmm." Was Asch's dull reply. "I have to think about them because you won't, all you do is sleep all day, and keep me on my feet because you have a tendency to try and roll off my side of your bed."

"Thank goodness you are here Asch." Luke lifted his IV free arms into the arm, and was glad he could finally move something without Asch's watchful eyes making sure he stayed safe. "Take good care of me, alright?"

Asch smiled, remembering that he had yet to tell Jade, one of Luke's strange friends that he seemed to trust the most, that he actually didn't hate Luke; he hated the concept of dying for Luke, before he met him of course.

But now as his replica was childishly playing with Asch's still long red hair, Asch questioned what this copy of himself actually meant to him, of course they were friends now, Asch had even given large quantities of his blood fonons to sustain the dying boy, but he insisted it was because he knew their blood types would match.

Asch responded by once more running his fingers through Luke's soft and short hair, with his ungloved hand, earning a grin of satisfaction from his counterpart.


	14. Innocent

**Innocent**

* * *

The _feeling._

Luke couldn't take that _feeling_ anymore.

Asch tried to comfort Luke, but as Jade predicted, Luke was getting itchy from the lack of Asch's blood fonons. Even though they were exact copies of each other, Asch were different at the time of extraction, much stronger and much more capable.

When Guy had entered for the third time, with intentions of speaking with Luke, he had witnessed Luke in a fit of tossing and turning, his blood fonons quickly being forced to reproduce on their own. Guy quickly turned and left the room, a little disturbed by the sight of Luke aching from his own body.

"Can I give him more of my blood?" Asch asked Jade, curious as to how much longer Luke would suffer through this.

Jade looked thoughtful for a moment, before shaking his head. "He isn't in any pain, just discomfort, and though this does seem rather harsh, his own fonons have to replace yours if you ever want him to recover fully."

Asch sighed and tried to roll Luke back onto his back, but Luke was rolling from side to side, to try and calm the itching in his veins. He would snake out from under Asch's grip, attempting ease the feelings. Asch could hear him meekly asking for help through their constant mind-link, but Asch had exhausted all possibilities.

"Keep an eye on him Asch; I'm going to go chat with the staff of the clinic about some of the strange things we have witnessed, I fear that vibration will return if you leave Luke's company before he has fully recovered in all aspects." Jade smirked and walked out of the room. He didn't plan on returning for quite a long time, curious as to how Asch would attempt to ease Luke's discomfort.

Asch didn't miss Jade's smirk, but missed his meaning. He returned to watching Luke struggle to control his blood fonons, but Luke was still physically and mentally weak.

Ion peaked his head through the curtain, to make sure the coast was clear. He smiled widely at the curious Asch, and hurriedly made his way to stand next to him.

"You can help him, you know. I'm sure Jade told you about it, right?" Ion found it hard to contain his grin, knowing Asch's reaction to his solution would most likely end in disastrous and embarrassing turn of events, but Ion had insisted on telling him, just to see for himself how deep the relationship between replica and Original ran.

"No… He didn't…" Asch was quickly distracted from Ion when Luke tried to roll himself out of the bed, in an attempt to find relief. The hand he had rested on Luke's shoulder had quickly applied full force to his replica's chest, to try and steady him.

"You have to make his blood _sing_ to make him feel better." Ion watched as Asch struggled with steadying his charge, but decided it would be best to leave before Asch tried to question how exactly you make a persons blood 'sing'.

Asch was only half listening, but when Ion suggestion finally registered, he quickly turned to inquire as to how he was to complete that task, but Ion had left him with nothing but a gently swaying curtain for an answer.

The suffering Luke quickly snapped his eyes opened and reached out for Asch, he had reached his breaking point, and hoped that Asch could somehow help him. Although he was riddled with strange visions of things he couldn't remember, something inside of him, maybe the last of Asch's blood fonons, or Luke's own mind, told him that his Original could help, he could ease this _feeling_.

Luckily, Asch had agreed to comply with Luke's childish need for Asch's touch to believe that he was recovering. Luke cradled Asch's arm at an odd angle against his chest, his shaking dying down a fraction, and Asch realized that his touch must be what made Luke's blood sing.

Asch thought quite diligently about how he could maximize touch and minimize embarrassment, but quickly threw that notion out when the shaking and the jittering returned full force. He sighed, and gently removed his arm from Luke's grip.

"If you damage your wound in your stomach and I must sit in this hospital room for another day, I swear you will never experience this again." Asch spoke mainly to himself, as Luke had returned to the frenzied scratching of his skin, and the wild flailing of his body in it's attempt to ease the discomfort.

Against his better judgment, Asch sat upon the head of Luke's bed, wincing to himself every time Luke's thrashing head would strike his thigh. But with every spasm of Luke's body, Asch would move himself a little more onto the hospital bed, until Luke had no more thrashing room, and opened his eyes wearily to discover the cause.

Asch attempted his best smile for his replica, but Luke continued his wild shaking, the massive tremors even more disturbing to Asch then the night he had discovered himself at Belkend, covered in blood, with no memory of how he had gotten there.

Against Asch's good judgment, which was slightly less thought out then his better judgment, he slid his legs under Luke's, at first only his ankles, but Luke had a way of sneaking more from Asch without him knowing.

Shortly thereafter, Luke had wormed his way on top of Asch, and wrapped his arms against Asch's waist. The younger Fabre buried his face in Asch's shoulder, but Asch didn't care about that. His focus was more directed on how the sutures in Luke's stomach were holding up to the strain, and was pleasantly surprised to see that not a single one had stretched.

But what surprised him more was how quickly the shaking of Luke's body died down when he settled himself upon his Original.

"Is this how you make your blood sing? You smother others?" Asch was satisfied with Luke's meager response, a simple grin against the dark material of Asch's under clothes. He had removed his full uniform upon arrival, the stench of blood and the sickening feeling of the crimson liquid as it stuck to his skin had been too much for Asch the Bloody. Knowing this blood had come from his identical copy made him feel even more disgusted, he was covered in _his_ blood, coming from _another_ person.

The clinic staff had been able to provide his with a simple change of clothes, and Asch had removed his outer cloak (which he insisted should be cleaned, not burned) shortly after Luke's awakening from death. The soft black material contrasted with both Luke and Asch's hair, giving the eerie look of something sinister, but Ion watching carefully from the curtain knew something so adorable couldn't be as sinister as it tried to appear.

"How are you doing Luke?" Asch tried to ask calmly, but Luke's occasionally tremor had him wondering if he had fully succeeded. Making another's blood 'sing' was not an activity he could say he undertook often.

"I feel… like I'm doing exceptionally better, but that feeling, although it's not as strong… I can still sense it's there, can you feel it?" Luke slipped his eyes open and glanced lazily up towards Asch's concentrating face.

"I can feel it through the mind-link, yes, but I don't know how to make it stop, other then wait it out. Does your blood feel like it's singing?" Asch hoped he had finally figured out Ion's cryptic message, that being in close proximity to he Original was all Luke needed to sooth his blood fonons, but he wondered why that last bit of itching remained.

Luke felt a slight crimson rise into his cheeks, all of Asch's thoughts carelessly drifting into his own mind. Even Luke was aware what it meant when Ion had said 'make his blood sing' but he thanked his stars he was not necessarily aware at the time.

"Do you want me to show you?" Luke said softly, pondering over the possible outcomes of his actions.

Asch thought he had been hearing things, but he responded with a simple, "Hmm?" (Just in case)

Luke smiled, no matter what happened afterwards, Luke was prepared to show his Original just how to make his blood sing.

"Do you want me to show you how to make my blood sing?"


	15. Song

**Song**

**A/N:** eeEEeeEEeeEEEeee.

That's all I have to say about this one.

* * *

There was a comfortable silence between the two, as Asch thought over Luke's request.

"Show me, huh?" Asch was able to sense a different vibe coming from his replica, something he had never fully seized as it drifted in and out of Luke's thoughts, but this time, was this feeling good or bad?

But Luke was eager to take this chance to push the boundaries of Asch's acceptance of him. Did he just tolerate him because he must? Or had they reached that thin line of friendship? Either way, Luke was bound to discover the answers he searched for.

"Yeah, Asch, make my fonons sing, I can teach you how…" Luke had once again begun to squirm, and Asch feared that contact would no longer calm the itching and discomfort of the reproduction of blood fonons. The younger Fabre always had a way of surprising his elder, who was ironically his identical twin with so much more experience.

Luke shifted so his chest was facing Asch, and his knees were on either side of Asch's legs. Their emerald eyes met and they could speak volumes with just their eyes, their identical gemstones locked in a conversation that neither Asch nor Luke were aware of. But Luke believed that certain pieces to a certain puzzle were lining up, and the heavens had given him so much more then his life.

"Well then Luke, I'm waiting."

Asch's voice was but a whisper, he was not quite as dull at Luke had believed, but he would continue to play Luke's game. It had not taken him long to recognize the fleeting feeling in his replica's mind, or notice the darkening of the usually bright green orbs that had still locked with his.

"But if you injure your self further I will not react as kindly as I have this past week."

And Asch knew he couldn't keep that promise.

And Luke knew it didn't matter at this point, he was too focused on the task at hand to even care about Asch's halfhearted threats. Luke closed his eyes, cutting off the unspoken conversation and leaned his forehead against Asch's.

"I won't sing this song for anyone else Asch, it's yours now."

Asch smirked, but Luke wrapped his arms around Asch's neck, bringing his mouth up close to Asch's ear, and threading his fingers through the blood red hair of his counterpart.

Asch returned the embrace, lightly at first, but with each passing second of Luke's silence, he wrapped his arms a little tighter, until he appeared to cling to Luke for his life.

Still keeping with his silence, Luke pushed himself slightly away from Asch, and looked at him for a second, before crashing his lips upon his elder's.

A vibrant song, full of mystery, despair and love quickly filled Asch's ears, his body still frozen from Luke's action. The melody only seemed to get louder, the longer Asch listened, and he finally found himself returning Luke's fervor.

Asch's hands wound into Luke's hair, and the battled for dominance with nips and gentle tugs at each others thick manes of hair. Asch easily conquered, he possessed much greater strength and endurance then Luke, but Luke would hardly give in that easily.

Luke broke the contact, resting his forehead against Asch's while he caught his breath.

Asch quickly scanned Luke's wounds, before pulling the exhausted boy to his chest. "Could anyone hear that song?" Asch was curious as to the meaning of this odd blood fonon song, but it was beautiful and enchanting at the same time. The moments without Luke's passion had been dragging on Asch, as he waited for Luke's reply.

The younger Fabre only smiled in response, he closed his eyes and the music that captivated his Original once more blessed him with it's harmony, Luke's very fonons singing in their strange language of vibration.

"I don't know Asch, but it's your song now, my fonons seem to like you."

Asch smiled and gently rocked his quickly healing little Luke to sleep. The sun kissed hair was the same color as Asch's, except for the very tips, they had taken a golden hue, lighter then Lorelei's own glow.

"I guess I'm no better then the boy who fell in love with his reflection." Asch muttered, pulling his knees up to better support himself for another one of Luke's long naps, but this time, Asch didn't feel like it wasn't worth it to be here when he woke up, that eerie melody of Luke's fonons as they sang still called to him, begging him to remove the despair and replace it with desire, and love, and maybe a hint of friendship.

"But." Asch said quietly to his sleeping roommate. "You aren't my reflection anymore, you are your own person… finally."

* * *

A/N: Hey. Now... I haven't tried to write romance in ages, because it doesn't normally go well with the drama I always always write. I write drama because it's what I can most easily portray. Love for me is so much different then naything I could ever hope to put into words, but someday, I'll write a beautiful romance story for you all, my next story in the works, alongside Switch (go read, shameless promotion!!!) is a drama for Candidate for Goddess. Good times for all. 


	16. Purge

**Purge**

A/N: Purging is removal. And right now I'm trying to remove excess weight from my body because my mom constantly tries scare tactics whenever I see her, like 'you will get diabetes!' or 'your heart will stop working!'

Good times living my life. I think she still believes I'm five.

* * *

"Luke sleeps a lot." Anise sighed, as she peaked her head into the clinic room once more. She had tried to distract herself by combing Tear's long hair, but when she had hit a snag and Tear awoke, Anise decided she didn't like the grumpy Tear as much as she liked awake Tear.

Jade was reviewing notes once more with Ion, as they discussed the possible outcomes and pathways to take to fully expel the Curse Slot from Guy, and the remnants of Van's injury curse. He gave Anise a sympathetic look, as he was feeling the desire to carry on with their travels, but good health was far too important to him, and he wouldn't compromise Luke for his own itching wish to hit the road.

On the other hand, Ion had been counseling Guy briefly on the different ways they could fully purge the Curse Slot from his body, after coming to the conclusion that last time they hadn't eradicated the entirety of it.

"I could fight it last time." Guy had said sadly. "This time I was just gone, I was outside of my body watching as all the horror unfolded around me."

"But he didn't die as the Curse Slot intended, you were able to save him." Ion had reasoned, but until Guy heard from Luke himself, it was a lost cause.

Since Asch and Luke finally pushed the borders of each others acceptance, which Ion had predicted resulted in Luke's fonon song. Ion and Jade also outlined the possibilities of what exactly a fonon song could have been, and what it sounded like, But Asch had been mum.

"It's Luke's song, and now it's my song, and until you hear it yourself it will stay that way." And with that Asch rested his cheek upon the crown the Luke's head and closed his eyes to wait for his replica to awaken once more.

And as Ion had guessed, the fonon song of Isofones was a symbol of trust and something more, something that Ion was a bit sad that he would never get to experience. When his original had died from an incurable disease, he hadn't gained the power Luke would gain upon Asch's, but Ion wasn't sad. He may have just been a replica, but he was Fon Master, and he had under his care, the perfect Isofones of Lorelei.

"It would appear that he is healing much quicker." Jade muttered, scratching something onto a scarp piece of paper and continuing his pursuit of knowledge. He didn't want much, just what they could expect when they tried to leave this place.

Ion could hear the faint humming of the fonon song once more, but he was a bit disappointed when Jade showed no signs of awareness.

There was a brief silence, interrupted occasionally by the shuffling of papers, and Anise's deep sighs of boredom, until finally, a soft exchange of words could be heard on the other side other curtain.

The three conscious members on the opposite of the whispering all fell silent, no papers were shuffled, and Anise felt her spine stiffen.

Ion heard the song grow louder and smiled, returning to the search for his answers.

* * *

Luke smiled against the material of Asch's clothing; his counterpart had waited for him to wake, like he had every time the younger Fabre closed his eyes.

"Is it morning?" Luke muttered, the constant harsh overhead lights had distorted his sense of day and night.

"I've been here with you, how would I know?" Asch yawned in response. He filled with cramps from sleeping upright, but in the back of his mind, the last verse of Luke's fonon song faded away.

"Don't leave." Luke whispered, tightening his grip around Asch's middle, and just savoring the feeling of being held.

"I'll stay." Asch responded through the mind-link, comforting his quivering counterpart. "But tell me what your fonon song is, I can hear it occasionally, where did it come from?"

Luke frowned, the purpose the fonon song had now was unknown to him, but he knew Asch would not be happy with the answer he sought.

"Asch, think back to the day I was created, how it felt." Luke didn't remember anything from those first few days, after he had been 'born.'

Asch had done a successful job of burying those memories, and burying his anger, but he would remember if it would help understand what was happening inside of Luke at this very moment.

"Well, it felt like a small part of me had been missing, and ever since then, that small hole just got bigger and harder to fill." Asch was suddenly conscious that the hole he felt had disappeared.

"When my fonons sing, they are singing to your fonons, where they longed to return too. Back before you would talk to me, before you even gave me a second thought, my fonons would cry out whenever you were near, worse then the pain of the headaches." Luke frowned; the pain of the anguished fonon song was worse then any pain he could imagine.

Asch was a little surprised, but it wasn't the worst he had prepared himself for. "So when they sing now…?"

"It's different now, my fonons don't have a place within you anymore, unlike before when my fonons were simply the ones missing from you. When they sing now, I feel so… different." Luke threaded his hands in the ends of Asch's hair and let his fingers gather and release the long hair of their own accord.

"What is it like Luke?" Asch felt like he was losing his piece of Luke's song, he more he delved into this conversation.

Luke sighed, before erupting into a light coughing fit. "It feels like…"

"Like?" Asch encouraged softly. "Good? Bad?"

"Like I'll never be happy if you leave me, the violent vibration of my fonons will respond to the despair in that song, and I'll never be happy."


	17. Simple

**Simple**

A/N: I got a nosebleed after writing the title for this chapter. And my Ip address had been phished, so I got my third warning from Comcast about illegal activity on my computer, and my internet was threatened to be shut off, again. I'm only plugging it back in when I need it now, because internet when I need it defiantly outweighs no internet at all.

And my nose is bleeding again but I'm going to write anyway.

* * *

Asch nuzzled his cheek above Luke's ear, and allowed the smaller boy access to the crook of his neck once more. "Think Luke, did I leave once after the Curse took effect? I risked death to retrieve you, I can't simply let you go now..."

"Besides." Asch added gently nipping Luke's ear. "I've never felt more complete since the moment you returned to us, to the living world."

Luke took a deep breath, and savored the moment of being so close to his Original, his fonons all singing almost silently, about their happiness and their joy. "Would you feel empty if I had disappeared?"

Asch knew the question had hung heavy in Luke's mind, the younger boy wanted nothing more then to accept Asch, but the memory of his fonons, and their suffering still overpowered the fonon songs true purpose.

"I would follow you into nothing, and retrieve you myself." Asch delicately pressed his lips against Luke's forehead, right above his eyebrow. "I can't be complete without you at my side."

The sadness Asch could hear in the fonon song was silenced, but he wasn't sure who had been responsible for silencing the final bit of doubt in Luke's fonons.

"Will everything be alright now? Everything will be okay?" Luke tickled Asch's jaw line with the bridge of his nose, before delicately pecking the corner of Asch's mouth.

Asch turned slightly so Luke and his lips were aligned, with only centimeters in between. "No."

Luke's eyes snapped open, and he stared curiously into Asch's lazy eyes.

"What do you mean by no? You said you would stay!" Asch silenced Luke's protests with a gentle brush of his lips. Luke inhaled sharply, and waited helplessly for Asch's words.

Asch untangled one of his hands from Luke's hair, and gently cupped his replica's cheek. "Your best friend waited for you, he waited not only because he needs you, but because he feels guilty."

"Guy…" Luke quickly pushed himself up from Asch's chest, from his comfort zone, and glanced around the room. "Is he alright?"

"Ion and Jade have helped purge the Curse Slot from his body, but his mind is still a wreck." Asch dropped his hand from Luke's cheek, and rested it above his replica's heart. "He needs your friendship and your trust, like you needed his."

Luke frowned at his predicament. "I'm not angry over what happened, more good came out from it in the end, actually. But…"

The curtain swayed from someone's quick entrance, and quickly drew both Luke and Asch's attention. Ion smiled to try and ease their tension, and the blush that was quickly rising into the identical faces.

"But you want him to believe that you truly mean it?" Ion pulled over Asch's abandoned chair and comfortably settled himself in next to the conversing pair.

Luke nodded. "I'm afraid he won't believe me, if he is still distraught."

Ion and Asch silently agreed with one another.

"Don't worry about that Luke, he needs you now." Asch tucked a stray hair behind Luke's ear, and eased his other self to his feet. His legs were a bit unstable at first, but he was finally able to regain his balance, and walk nervously towards the curtains where Ion had entered.

Luke brushed them aside, and with a deep breath he stepped into the adjoining room to face his comrades, for the first time in over a week, the first time since the incident.

* * *

"So what did you want from me, Ion?" Asch had settled back on Luke's bed, savoring the warmth that had been left from the two of them occupying the space.

The Fon Master smiled, trying his best to cover the uncertainty the upcoming conversation held for him. "How did you know I wanted something?"

Asch didn't verbally respond, but raised his eyebrows in question towards the Fon Master.

"That was a stupid question, you are right." Ion sighed, tilting his head back to face the ceiling. "I've come to ask you about the fonon song."

"I don't know anymore then you do." Asch was treading into an area that he knew little about, only what Luke had told him, and what Luke had told him made little sense to him now.

"Do you believe a fonon song can only occur between a replica and the original?" Ion became very interested in the folds of his ceremonial garb, but refused to meet Asch's stares, even though he could feel the way they made his skin crawl.

The matter of a fonon song that could be heard between the Original and replica should only be the matter of the two involved, but Ion's sudden interest, and his knowledge of how to initiate the song didn't sit well with Asch. "Have you heard the fonon song?"

"I can hear Luke's when he is with you, but none of Luke's companions appear to have the ability to hear it, not even the cheagle that has grown so fond of him." Ion's green bangs fell in front of his face, blocking the obvious questions that he found in his eyes.

"Ion… Are you….?" Asch suddenly understood why Ion needed the Daathic relics to perform the artes that the Fon Master was supposedly able to control above all others, and Sync's ability to use them as well…

"I am a replica of the Original Fon Master, as well as Sync and five others that I do not know the fates of. An isofone such as Luke could not be created, and upon Ion's death, I took his position seamlessly." Ion's dark eyes finally met with Asch's, who quickly glanced to the doorframe to see if Luke had lingered. "They can't hear us in here, but I'd rather not take any chances, so I made sure to distract Luke with Guy." Ion added as the relic under his robe flashes briefly to show it was still consuming fonons.

"They don't know then, out there? They don't know you are the same as Luke?" Asch continued to analyze the Fon master, his calculating stare was as dark as Ion's, as they both studied each other for the next reaction.

"I'm not the same as Luke." Ion finally whispered back, breaking the intense stare with Asch. "I never got to meet my Original, I'll never get to hear my own fonon song."

Asch didn't understand much about fomicry, but he knew that because of it, seven years ago, Luke had been born, the bubbly seven year old that had taken everything he had known, by Van's hand he had been created, and when he had served his purpose, Van had intended to destroy the 'worthless replica.'

The more Asch pondered, the more he wondered that maybe Luke's life had been harder then his, Asch had a past, and Luke had everyone reminding him of how he didn't, Luke had Asch to tell him that he was worthless, and that all his body wanted to do was return to where it originated.

"Do you think… All replica's can hear his fonon song?" Asch strained his mind to come up with a logical explanation as to what the song was, but he was unable to, all he could think of was it's connection to Asch, and possibly the Dorian General.

"That's something for another time, not now, I came to tell you about how I was Ion's replica, and about the defense of Lorelei's isofones. I discovered something in Jade's notes today that may help you uncover why exactly Luke's body vibrates when he is hurt and you are not near." Ion produced the paperwork from under the material of his baggy sleeves, and smiled, handing over the assorted notes for Asch's inspection.

Asch quickly scanned the small stack for the things Ion had underlined, hoping that the Fon Master would be able to explain what he couldn't piece together from the sketchy notes.

Ion began briefing Asch, even though he was still busy indulging in the materials. "Up until recently, the fall of Akzeriuth to be precise, Luke was unaware of his being a replica of you, and ultimately an Isofone of Lorelei. Jade had suspicions, as documented in the earlier entries, but it appears that this defense spans back to the day of Luke's creation, and Van was aware of it when he created him, that he was not only gaining a way to defy the Score, but kill millions once he activated Lorelei's innate defense of his Isofone…"

"My body won't vibrate though, is that why he created Luke? To either way, kill millions of people? He was born a weapon?" Asch had never been too fond of Van, after discovering that Van had been the one to kidnap him, and Van had been the one to use fomicry upon him. Van was the one that sent the infantile version of himself back to his home, Luke hadn't asked to be born as Van's weapon…

"A replica isn't meant to last long, when Luke dies, he won't 'die.' His body was return to the fon belt, and if Van ever gains control of Luke, being Lorelei's Isofone, has the seventh fonons defense on his side, the vibration that calls to Lorelei itself, and you, and asks for help." Ion glanced over his shoulder once more, Luke was still continuing his search for his best friend, and like Ion had hoped, Guy was wandering the city.

"And Van knew all of this? Do you think that being a descendant of Yulia…?" Asch had been a little wary of Tear after discovering she was Van's sister, through Luke's memories. But if she had been unable to help her possible interest in his time of need, she surely didn't have any knowledge of the fonon defense system.

Jade knocked on the outside of the curtain, the metallic ring stopping Ion from even finishing his next thought. Jade was not stupid, he knew Ion had used a fonic arte to protect their conversation, but Luke had just snuck out of the hospital, and Jade wondered if Asch would like to follow his replica into whatever trouble he would cause.

"Yes Jade?" Ion called, his heart rate speeding just a bit, but even when he felt the glyph stop consuming fonons, he was still worried that the contents of their philosophical discussion hadn't been kept private, as he had hoped.

"If you two are done discussing whatever matters you must, Luke has just made out into the city, after proving to me he had healed." Jade smirked, Luke was s stubborn boy, and the sun would be setting soon, leaving him a sitting duck for Van, had Van actually managed to trace him here, that is.

Asch sighed, standing abruptly from the bed. "I'll go make sure he doesn't injure himself further."

With a slightly aggravated Asch huffing around, Ion decided to leave Jade's notes for the redhead and escape, Anise would probably like someone to play with, and Ion hadn't had 'fun' in many years.

'But.' He reminded himself. 'This means she will feel free to do my hair again….' Ion sighed and pushed back the curtain, ready to accept his fate.

* * *

Guy had found a bench with a beautiful view of the water, and settled himself in to watch the sunset alone. On Hod, they had a tradition of wishing on the sunset, and they always said that if the sunset flashed green, your wish would come true.

Not a lot of Guy's wishes came true, he had never seen the green flash himself, but the hope to see it once more, to win back Luke's trust as a friend, had him reaching out for one of his childhood memories, wishing with his sister.

Luke watched Guy from the side of a nearby building, he was nervous, and he knew there wasn't much time until Jade had commissioned a search party of Asch and himself to discover his whereabouts, but the way Guy watched the sunset with a longing Luke didn't understand aided in his desire to simply, watch.

The edge of the sun crept below the horizon, but Guy saw no green flash, and cursed.

Luke gathered up his courage and cautiously stepped behind the bench. He decided to simply wait for Guy to realize it was him; he didn't want Guy to think he was doing this because he must.

Guy glanced over his shoulder, and was shocked to see Luke standing there, basking in the remains of the sun's light. "Why did you come?" Guy whispered, nervously wondering, had he come to ask him why he stabbed him? The anger and hurt he had been experiencing when the Curse Slot took full effect still haunted him, the memory of Hod…

"I came, for you." Luke smiled, and looked down coax a bit of ease from his best friend. "I came to tell you I was sorry."

Guy was taken aback, he remembered Luke saying something similar after he drove the blade through his abdomen, but the meaning behind the words escaped Guy once more.

"You're sorry? You haven't done anything…" Except recover from the wounds I scarred you with.

"I made you wait an awfully long time, didn't I? I'm sorry you had to experience the Curse Slot Guy, even though I know they came to kill me, I'm sorry you had to get involved, and you had become their tool." The sea front breeze softly ruffled Luke's bedridden hair, his innocence and his sincerity shining in his eyes.

"Luke…" Guy was speechless; Luke had come to apologize for being the one meant to die? This was the Luke that had made him change his mind, replica or not…

"I know you feel guilty, and you probably will continue to, but I'll always forgive you Guy, you're my best friend, and growing up would have never been the same without you. I would be a completely spoiled brat had you not been there." Luke maneuvered around the bench and sat next to Guy, watching the sea with him.

Guy felt the haze from the past week lift, only slightly, enough to see that Luke was alive, and he was here offering Guy salvation from the haunting feeling in his mind. "Thank you Luke."

"Best friends will always be there for each other, right?" Luke smiled, and Guy laughed at his childishness, feeling as if everything would finally be alright, for once.

Asch smiled at the two friends reconnecting on the bench, and he almost wished he didn't have to interrupt them, but Jade was right.

"Van will come back for his weapon; it's just a matter of time until he finds it…" Asch whispered to himself, before moving to stand next to his other.

'Such cruelty.' Asch thought as he watched the way Luke greeted him with a smile, and the way him and Guy were able to talk excitedly about the adventures Luke had undergone in his own mind.

'Such cruelty to make something so innocent, for the sole purpose of killing so many.'

* * *

A/N: Leaves me some nice reviews, okay guys? It's been a rough week and I could use such lovely niceness. And I could also use some grammer skillz. 


	18. Glow

**Glow**

A/N: But I'd rather be your baby!! (Make me glow glow glow glowww)

I'm in a super good mood because I got all my driving done for the day, and I got a lot of sleep so I defiantly feel like I'm in my prime, and writing has been coming so much easier, it used to be that I would sit here and just zone out because I didn't know what I wanted to write, but not now!!

P.S. I just turned on my Cats music. Expect great things.

And I hope Belkend is seaside because it is now :D

* * *

When darkness settled on the seaside town of Belkend, Asch had grown conscious of the danger at hand, and ushered both Guy and Luke in the direction of the clinic. He hated feeling like such a mother hen, but he cared about Luke's life, and his happiness, which is why he didn't leave Guy to find his own way home.

'Will I leave them when they leave?' Asch was having a hard time concentrating on potential danger, but he couldn't help but think about his future, even if it wasn't the best time.

Asch gripped the hilt of his sword when the passed an Oracle Knight, it was only one, he reminded himself, and I'm not in uniform. 'But Ion is missing now too, they are bound to start searching soon.'

'Will Luke truly be happy if I leave him with his friends?'

But the pang in his heart told him otherwise. Luke shot his counterpart a concerned glance, feeling the slight tinge of hurt Asch was unable t contain. Asch simply shook his head and placed his hand on Luke's shoulder, leading him like one would a small child.

"I'm not expecting you to be tired Luke, but will you try and sleep tonight?" Guy had resumed his duties of babysitter as well, which brought Asch some relief, but also more pangs of jealously. 'Guy stabbed you Luke; at least I haven't tried to kill you….'

Asch suddenly felt his spine stiffen, had he broadcasted that to his replica?

But there was no reaction from the younger redhead, he stopped when he felt Asch's hand slid off his shoulder and turned to face his Original.

Luke had only fainted heard small bits of Asch's thoughts, but the wavering feelings of hurt and jealously had slipped past Asch's barriers without Asch ever noticing. Luke's eyes met with Asch's, and Luke reached his hand out to Asch, while opening a mind-link.

"We should tell our friends before they find out." Luke's voice in Asch's mind was always much less annoying then it was in real life, or at least that's what Asch told himself.

"Tell them what? What would you like me to do Luke?" Asch was hinting at Luke making this decision for him, but he knew it meant stay and live happily ever after, was Asch really able to give that to him? A happy ending?

"Don't leave. Whatever happens, I want you to stay with me, with us."

"And what are you implying that we tell your friends? Have I a secret that you know?"

Asch smiled, and Luke attempted to look hurt, it was not everyday he could joke with a God-General, even about such trivial matters.

"You know that I really, really like you, and you can make the fonon song, I want to tell them that I… I…" Luke broke eye contact and the mind-link began to falter.

Guy had been watching the whole scene with interest, his best friend could hide nothing from him, no matter how many times he had tried. The way Luke broke eye contact was a sign that he was afraid of rejection, and he was submitting to Asch, whether Asch knew it or not.

"He loves you." Guy finished for Luke, before turning and entering the clinic they had stopped in front of.

Asch glared daggers to the blond, hoping that if Luke had been the one to tell him, he would feel like he must stay, but Guy interrupting made him feeling like killing the blond on the spot.

"Luke.." Asch noticed that his replica had suddenly began to fold into himself, appearing very small to the taller Asch.

"He's right, I do love you, and I had hoped that maybe if you didn't know, you wouldn't feel like you had to stay." Luke turned his head to the side, exposing his neck like a defeated canine.

"You don't want me to stay?" Asch took a step towards Luke, who responded with five steps away.

A small tear had escaped from the well forming in Luke's eyes, and something about the way the moon illuminated it's trail made Asch's heart break.

"I want you to stay! I never want you to leave! But that's not thinking realistically, you have the god generals to return to, and I have to keep moving so I don't get killed by the oracle knights again…"

Asch clenched his fists when he heard Luke say again, the reminder that Van had almost won, once. The Original fought against his desire to punch Luke in the stomach until he understood that people in this world cared about him, but the mostly healed wound in his stomach was a red flag for Asch's anger.

"You are so stupid Luke."

Luke flinched and opened his blurry eyes to better understand his Original. Asch took his moment of weakness to his advantage, and grabbed Luke, pulling the smaller boy tightly against his chest.

"I wanted you to love me so I wouldn't have to leave…" Asch whispered darkly into his replica's ear. "And you do love me, and I love you too Luke, so why would I leave you? We have each other and together we are complete."

Asch pushed Luke's shoulders away gently, so he could examine Luke for his reaction. Luke's teary eyes almost offset the goofy smile he had on his face, and the younger threw his arms around his Original's neck. Asch placed his forehead against Luke's, leaning in to seal their deal, when Luke's breath hitched in his throat and Asch knew why.

"Hey guy's, what are you doing out here still?" Ion and Anise could seriously ruin any moment with a question like that, but the answer was not what she had come out for.

Anise leaned really close to Ion and whispered into his ear.

"They really do love each other then?"

Ion just smiled and nodded, Lorelei hadn't lied when he told her it would be different this time, and she had been right to believe him.

The replica Ion watched, and finally, he understood. The fonon song, the way Lorelei seemed so protective of Luke and Asch, saving them both from death, Luke even more then once.

Lorelei didn't just exist in the planet's core, there was another somewhere else, another sentience existed for the seventh fonon, it was the only logical explanation. Another force of the seventh fonon had to exist, and although Luke was Lorelei's isofone, as Asch was, this other sentience was present within Luke, and Lorelei was strongly within Asch.

"Everything makes so much more sense now…" Ion accidentally revealed out loud. He watched with curiosity as Anise slowly moved towards the startled and embarrassed pair of Fabre boys.

Anise frowned when the two inched away, "Don't." She whispered.

She reached out and grabbed both Luke and Asch's hand, feeling the rush and electricity that raced through the both of them, before finally placing their hands together.

"You shouldn't deny love." Anise said with a grin. "Especially after all you two have gone through."

Luke and Asch were speechless, but Luke tightened his grip on Asch's hand, after Anise and let them go.

"I thought you would die." Anise admitted, looking away to hide the sadness in her eyes. "Death is scary, isn't it Luke? You healed so quickly after Asch saved you, I hardly got to see you! I'm so glad you are back though Luke!"

Anise let a small bit of her guard down, and the sadness in her eyes became liquid, and as Anise's father had always told her, liquid sadness was what your tears were, and it was only alright to let it go if you truly meant it.

And when Anise started to cry, she knew that nothing would have been the same had Asch not stayed, and had Luke died in the woods that day. Luke bent down and pulled Anise close, the younger sister the lonely noble never had. Asch finally gave in to his own inner turmoil and bent down as well, placing a comforting hand on Anise's shoulder.

"This is what true friends are like then?" Asch asked over the mind-link. "The ability to take away the sadness in a person, and the acceptance of whatever may come?"

Luke squeezed Asch's hand in response. "There is so much more Asch, but yeah, true friends will always cheer you up, and accept you for who you are."

Anise finally dried her eyes on the back of her sleeve, and pulled away from the pair, before debating over something in her mind. She finally gave in to whatever it may have been, and launched herself into Asch's exposed chest, she wriggled her arms around him and squeezed, and Asch felt compelled to return the gesture.

Luke smiled, and Anise released Asch fro her vice-like grip. "I can never thank you enough for what you did Asch, so stay with us, okay? Stay with Luke and keep him out of trouble, and keep him happy, you saved his life, and I can never ever repay that debt to you."

Asch and Luke locked eyes before Asch nodded to Anise.

"I'll stay with Luke because I love him, and he loves me too."

Anise squealed with delight before racing to Ion's side. "You two look like soul mates, so contrasting! Yet so similar!"

"Yes, it's quite amazing." Ion added with a hint of amusement in his voice. For a second, Ion could have sworn he saw a male and female sentience standing where Luke and Asch had been, but the moment he blinked they were gone. Ion could easily identify one as Lorelei, but the other? Was she the other sentience that called out to Lorelei? Was she possibly a replica of Lorelei himself, as Luke was of Asch?

The seventh fonon was capable of many astounding things, maybe it had somehow replicated itself when Yulia called upon Lorelei, but nothing could be known for sure, not until Lorelei and this mysterious other entity, the one in Yulia's private score for Fon Master's only. Her conversation with Lorelei had been documented in a score that was only accessible by using Daathic fonon artes, but nothing was able to help him now, the Score was in Daath and he was here, but her existence was enough to help understand the mystery for now.


	19. Understanding

**Understanding**

**A/N: **This is almost the last chapter, I'm sad our journey together is going to end this way, but I hope you will all stay with me! Once I finish this round of stories (four total, Tales of the Abyss, Kingdom Hearts, Loveless, and Megami Kouhosei, two uploaded and two in progress) maybe I will return to you all! I invite you all to drop me a line anytime; I'll provide my information in my profile. It's been in need of some serious work lately anyway.

P.S. This is a long and confuseing one. Any questions on what happens at the end can and will be answersif you simply ask! I normally don't do reviewer responses in the chapter itself, but i do respond to questions via e-mail, when I can. So I'll try my best to be here for you all!

* * *

The night had been long for Luke, Asch had threatened to knock him out many times if he didn't stop squirming, but his mind was racing.

He started experiencing memories, brief flashes of a face that had no name, and a new voice had seemed to replace Lorelei's. This new voice, was gentler, and her intrusion into his mind didn't hurt like Lorelei's did, but who was she?

"Would you like me to appear?"

Asch pulled Luke a little closer as he slept, perhaps some of his apprehension had spilled through their mind-link, but could he hear this woman? What would he say to her in this situation?

"You are a curious one, aren't you? I want to see you, Luke."

The gentle tone of the voice was driving Luke mad with curiosity, but he didn't want to wake his friends, they had been through a lot for him, and although it broke Tear and Natalia's hearts to know that their love would be unrequited, they couldn't compete with their reasoning.

"He saved me, I would be dead without him, and I need him to be by my side, always." Luke had reasoned, and Asch had been planning to avoid the question all along, but he finally retorted.

"Luke is my reason to keep on living, had he never been born, things would have been different, but he was, and I can't blame him, but I can stand by him."

Luke smiled against Asch's collarbone, before closing his eyes to once again attempt sleep.

"No, not now, don't come now… Midori…."

There was a gentle, fading laugh in Luke's mind before the unknown connection started to shut itself down.

"I'll come in the morning then, we can meet your friends together, finally."

Luke huffed at the familiarity tugging his empty memories. There was a reason those memories did not exist, because Luke did not exist, but had Midori existed before him? Without him? And why could Luke recall her name?

Questions like these made Luke's head ache, which in turn woke Asch.

"Why are you still awake?" He muttered, his eyes were heavy from sleep, and the arm had been securing Luke with was asleep.

Luke didn't understand why he was still awake, he was tired, but no sleep would come. He had been on the verge of insanity (in his eyes) when the comforting voice of the mysterious Midori flowed into his mind.

"I'm fine Asch, everything will be alright in the morning." Luke pulled himself up so his lean body covered Asch's muscular one, they had retreated from Luke's safety zone, the hospital bed and room, for the inn. They had still not left the city, but a journey started a night was bound to encounter many troubles.

Asch didn't believe Luke, his sentence was all too contradictory, but he was tired and gently allowed himself to retreat back into his rejuvenating sleep. Luke's eyes were fixed on the lamp beside their bed. His reflection in the brass surface was distorted, but his eyes were a piercing green, a green that would illuminate the darkness with it's intensity.

But darkness was what Luke desired, he desired sleep, and he slid those piercing green eyes closed.

* * *

"Asch, fragment of my soul!" Lorelei was calling out to Asch, even though he was aware the youth had recently just fallen back asleep. He had hoped to catch them both awake, perhaps make contact with the other sentience, but Luke had gone by the time Asch responded.

It was an incoherent noise, but it was enough to alert Lorelei that Asch was listening.

"One who vanished long ago has returned, and she will surface herself in the morning, I wish to understand the situation, do not be alarmed."

Lorelei's voice faded as Asch slowly returned to sleep. Had he dreamed it? Was Lorelei's voice real? But Asch had fallen asleep far too soon for the matter to dwell; he would deal with it in the morning.

* * *

Dawn crept into Tear Grants room, but the fonist was already preparing for the day. Even though the warm summer air was blowing in her window, she felt numb.

Tear had never planned on falling in love when she snuck into the Fabre manor, and she had never planned on falling in love when she had been blasted to Tataroo Valley. Love was surrounding Tear now, but how come she couldn't feel it?

Van had affected them all that night, in one night, her brother had been able to destroy her world, her friends, and her idea of love. She had _loved_ Luke, loved him with all her heart, but she was unable to love in the way her Original could.

Was it something she could never understand? She was never replicated, she was neither an Original nor a replica, and perhaps this was the way it was destined to work out. The fonon song, as Ion had explained, was something a replica gave to the Original, in an attempt to win their love.

That song Ion could hear when they were together, maybe that was the love Tear would never understand, maybe Luke's desire to be with Asch was something that even he couldn't understand, but an imprint in his fonons, and embodied by their song, his desire to be whole was felt full force in return from Asch.

"To be whole… To live… It's not possible for them any longer…."

Except together.

This was how Van had hurt Tear. He had created Luke from Asch, and that was all that he needed to do. She fell in love with Luke, but Luke can not love any other then his Original.

Had there been other replicas out there, who felt the longing that Luke did? The wish to be complete, to have memory and meaning, to _die_ instead of fade away?

Was Luke alone in his search, for love?

"He isn't searching anymore." Tear said with a smile, finally understanding that she had been foolish to blame anyone for her heartache.

And Asch…. She thought sadly.

He was destined to abandon life after Luke's creation, he was no longer the Sacred Flame, but it's ashes, tossed aside after it's brilliance was copied. The strength of his fire, and the burning of incomplete soul were instantly remedied when Luke had returned to him, and when Luke had fought him for his love.

The replicated Fabre may have not understood much about the world, but he understood the need to be close to the one who looked so much like him. He knew that he must endure his harsh words and brutal treatment of the one who stole his life, because without him, he was not complete.

The fragments of Lorelei, those who can save the world, had completed one another, and Tear couldn't be sad about that.

"They can change the world, and though the flame may burn bright…" Tear smiled to herself as the sun fully emerged from the horizon. "His ashes hold the most heat."

"There are many people in this world." Tear's smiled when she heard the sleepy exchange in the room next to hers. 'Good morning' and 'How are you' never sounded so innocent.

"I have to find the one just for me, only for me."

* * *

Anise and Natalia had shared a room, but the younger girl was much fonder of sleeping in then the princess.

As Natalia was washing the sleep from her eyes, she noticed the ruffling in the room beside hers. Normally, she wouldn't be able to hear things though the rather thick walls of the inn (Tear wouldn't be able to as well, actually), but the two women had insisted upon occupying the rooms on either side of Asch and Luke.

The two boys had taken the room Tear had originally booked for herself, as Tear wanted to sleep alone that night, mixing up the rooming arrangements a bit.

Ion had done his best to brace them all for what was coming, what would change now that Luke had been revived (sort of, at least that was what Ion referred to it as). Luke had become much more attached to his Original, in an almost childish need to be near him at all times, but Ion explained that it wasn't as childish as it looked.

Luke was a deadly weapon, whether Asch had explained that to the youth or not, and he needed to be kept safe, to keep the world safe.

But… Couldn't someone other then Asch be the one to look after him? Couldn't someone other then her fiancé be the one to stay by his side?

There was no denying the bond that they shared, so Natalia smiled and accepted the news with a smile. Was it fake? She couldn't tell, nothing felt real since they had discovered death could be beaten.

But even if she asked Asch to follow through on his agreement, on his proposal, he wouldn't be happy. She wouldn't be happy.

Natalia frowned, maybe she should have given up on that proposal when Luke returned to them, instead of Asch, and showed her no interest, as she feared.

"He isn't the Luke that proposed to me." Natalia said sadly, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

Anise had rolled out of bed, still sleepy, but awake enough to catch Natalia's spoken confession.

"Let him go then." Anise said simply, she was young but her voice held much maturity.

"The Luke that proposed to you Natalia …doesn't exist anymore." Anise opened the door to the room, and stepped into the hallway, shutting the door behind her quietly. She wanted to talk to Ion, could she help Natalia understand that this was for the best?

"I guess she is right." Natalia said sadly, clutching the sides of the sink. "As princess, it's my duty to protect my kingdom, and if I take Asch away, I'm endangering not only my kingdom, but Malkuth as well…"

"Besides…" Natalia said with a knowing smile. "There are many other nobles, for more desirable then silly Luke, or the cold-hearted Asch, I can be happy too…"

* * *

Luke and Asch had finally stopped their 'Good mornings' long enough to get properly dressed, breakfast was provided by the inn, and they happen to not be the only occupants of the inn. Luke was desperate for food, as was Asch, but neither one admitted how hungry they truly were.

Asch was carefully not to make too much noise when he slammed Luke's back against the door, and devoured his mouth with a hungry kiss. His own hunger was disguised in the powerful way he fought for dominance.

Luke fought too, but he knew he couldn't win. Luke knew that Asch like the thrill of a challenge, and he would give it to him, he was with his Original now, and that was how it was supposed to be.

A sharp knock on the door, and Guy's tired yawn caused both parties to freeze.

"We are going down for breakfast, are you guys coming?" Guy struggled to contain the amusement in his voice, his best friend had found his destiny, even if the Score hadn't predicted this, Guy knew it had to have been predestined, for such happiness and trust to exist in an Original and his Replica, as Luke could love no other, Ion had explained, it was his curse for being Asch's isofone, his body wanted to be with Asch, and he couldn't deny it.

Asch quietly backed away for the smirking Luke.

"Yeah, we will be down in a second." Asch called indifferently.

Luke reached out and brushed Asch's long bangs out of his eyes, tucking the particularly long strands behind the (ex) God Generals ear.

Luke smiled, and pulled the door in towards him and Asch, before they casually walked towards breakfast, hand in hand.

* * *

As Luke and Asch stepped into the relatively small dining hall, Luke smiled and waved to greet his friends.

"Good morning everyone!" Luke called out, oblivious to the very tired members of his party.

"Why is everyone so tired?" Asch mused, loud enough so only Luke could hear. "I would except you to be exhausted Luke, you hardly slept."

Luke smiled, when the straggled and almost forced greets reached his ears. "I am." He confessed to Asch. "I am more exhausted then I have ever been, but it's strange, I don't feel it."

"Come to think of it, I am too…" Asch frowned.

"We are glowing."

"Is it…?" Luke suddenly remembered Midori's words from the night before, the way her voice had brought his mind peace, where Lorelei's words brought pain.

"Midori?" Luke questioned. The glowing grew more intense, earning a few concerned glances from Luke's companions, but Ion had strictly informed them all to 'stay put.'

"It's Lorelei." Asch said, but his curiosity of the mysterious other Luke had mentioned remained strong.

"She told me, Midori told me she would come, to meet everyone…" Luke gasped, and Asch clutched his shoulders.

"Who is Midori?" Asch demanded, but as Luke's eyes stared into his Original's, the green melted into a vibrant orange, and Luke's entire body glowed with a power beside Lorelei's.

"Lorelei?" Luke asked, but Asch couldn't recognize his voice.

Asch was about to start demanding answers, when he felt another presence beside him.

"Midori, you live?" The strange apparition was of a tall man, with shoulder length black hair and eyes as orange as Luke's.

"I don't exist in this world as you do Lorelei; my only binds are to Asch's replica, to Luke." Luke motioned to himself, but it was obvious that it was another being within him, Midori, that was in control.

"Do you exist in the Fon Belt? Is that where you vanished too?" Lorelei looked longingly towards Luke; he could see Midori in Luke, not the Luke that Asch saw.

"I'm still waiting for you Lorelei, I still sing your song, even in a different body…" Luke smiled and reached out and placed his hand upon Asch's cheek. "Singing to your Isofone, is exactly like singing to you…"

Jade adjusted his glasses as he watched the scene unfold before him. Many of the other inn guests had abandoned the dining hall, leaving Luke's friends and a few brave others.

"And she is?" Jade questioned the fascinated Fon Master beside him.

"The replica… of the sentience of the seventh fonon, a failure, for she emerged female, but still in love with her Original, which is why Luke loves Asch so much." Ion smiled, Yulia's score, the one she had written without Lorelei's help, had come true. "And Lorelei loved her back, failure or not, which is why Luke and Asch can so easily express their love."

"My time here is up Lorelei, I never stopped waiting for you return to me, in the Fon Belt, I must return now, Luke cannot contain my power much longer, and I wish not to hurt my material form… my imperfect Isofone…" Luke wrapped his arms around Asch's body, and pulled him close. Was it Midori hugging the Lorelei within him? Or Luke hugging Asch? It didn't matter anymore; Asch held his replica close, and the orange glow around them faded.

Midori left one last message for Luke before leaving him completely. She had been there from the day of his birth, positive that an perfect isofone of a perfect isofone would allow her to see Lorelei, one more time, until he returned.

"I never got to meet your friends Luke… But that's alright, I've protected you since your birth, it's time to let Asch take over, my fonon song is yours now, sing it for Asch, for me…"

Luke smiled against Asch's neck, and pulled away from his Original to see that all the glowing had faded. Green eyes met green, and Asch was the happiest, most confused man he had ever known.

"What in the world just happened?" He whispered to Luke.

"I don't know…" Luke responded, a little dazed and saddened by the loss of Midori's presence. He had never been aware of it until now, and Luke realized that she could never make herself known until Lorelei, or Asch, loved him, Midori, in any form.

"But I'm glad it happened."


	20. Past

**Past**

**A/N:** This is a very short chapter, probably only a page long actually. I'm growing tired of writing, I don't feel satisfied with my work, and even though I want to write Loveless, more then I could ever hope to explain, I don't think any of my ideas will be accepted as openly as they have been here. I'm probably going to finish out Switch and this story, but then I might just break for awhile, and just stop writing until I feel like I can again.

It's to the point where I refuse to read my own work, so maybe I do need some sort of break D:

(and I don't know where the line at the end comes from, but I love it more then life itself!)

* * *

Lorelei's discovery was an accident; his peaceful existence in the Fon Belt was ruined when he discovered the power of hyperresonance, the power that his seventh fonons could create. 

The creation of Midori, the imperfect isofone, the failed copy of himself destroyed his cover, as the seventh fonon was soon discovered by Yulia, and it's powerful ability to see into the future, to see one of many futures, was desired.

Midori could not follow Lorelei into the core, she could not be called by the Key of Lorelei, but her desire to be at her Original's side caused the replicated sentience great pain, their short time together had not been enough to satisfy her love, but not even her connection to Lorelei could cross the divide that separated them both.

When Yulia's score told of the end of the world, Midori grew desperate, waiting for her dearest, who taught her to sing and to love, for if the planet was destroyed, Lorelei would perish along with it, he must be released, by the Key and one who desired Lorelei's freedom. Lorelei himself had possession of the Sword, and the Jewel, but finding a trustworthy soul, a human willing to defy the score to release him from his prison was a hard task.

But, Lorelei hadn't realized how quickly the birth of his Isofone had occurred, once he was a little older, Lorelei would contact him, with his request to be free, but all of it changed when Luke fon Fabre was replicated, giving Midori a gateway to Lorelei's prison.

She sang for Asch, Luke's fonons were hers to manipulate, for she exchanged his protection for his fonons. She would have liked to ask permission, but because he only connection to this world rested in a replicated Isofone of her dear Lorelei, she remained unknown, singing her agony to Lorelei whenever Asch was near, but the elder Fabre could not hear.

Midori's inhabitance within Luke made Lorelei's attempts to contact him painful; the two sentience's vying for contact greatly strained his fon slots, resulting in painful headaches that his Original would not be forced to bear.

When Luke gave Asch his fon song, Midori was able to contact her Original, the same desire to be near him strongly ran through Luke's heart, Asch in place of Lorelei. But a flawed, imperfect Isofone did not possess the same qualities as the perfect isofones did. The strength Midori had been saving from within Luke's Isofones, doubled by Lorelei's strong desire to protect his Isofones, gave her to strength to face her Original once more, using the power Luke had to offer.

Her ascension to the fon belt destroyed Van's motive for the ultimate weapon, for Midori made it perfectly clear, she caused the vibration, she was the one who so desperately called out to her Original from her host's fonons, and she was the reason that Luke and Asch needed each other so badly.

* * *

Ion placed the small fragment of his Fon Stone aside, Yulia's secret Fon Stone for Fon Master's only had detailed a desire of Lorelei's, but now he understood. 

"Love can drive even a great sentience mad with loss, right, Lorelei?"

But the embodiment of the seventh fonon had returned to the planet's core, and only Luke and Asch remained, no sentiences fueled the love and desire they both contained.

"Let's free them." Luke whispered. "No one deserves to be separated from their love."

Asch smiled, and nuzzled Luke's hair in approval, before whispering a breathy, "I agree."

_You could have filled any space but the space you filled was me._


	21. Clear

**Clear**

**A/N: **This may be the end of our long run with each other! I've loved every second of it, trust me. I'll miss you all! Keep a whether eye on the horizon! I'll come back, I promise! Once I finished one of my other two projects, I'll consider another silly little plot to write another long story about. I love writing long things, because you can gain the interest of so many people, you can introduce so many different elements into longer stories, and they give you so much more to think about as well. So wait for me, alright? To everyone that rocketed me above 4,000 hits, I owe everything to you, because you kept me going:D

* * *

"Guy, please join Ion and I back in our hotel room, we would like to make sure that your Fon Slots have been fully purged of the Curse Slot, if you don't mind." Jade walked away from the shell-shocked company, Ion in tow.

Guy, being one of the few not entirely surprised by the sudden appearance of the dual Sentiences, shrugged his shoulders and returned upstairs, after grabbing a few muffins and a slice of toast to snack on in the hotel room. It had always been one of his beliefs that perhaps, there were dual sentiences for all of the elements, as Light consisted of Luna and Aska, although they had no pronounced fonon abilities. But knowing a second sentience for sound only existed due to the uncontrolled hyperresonance of Lorelei in the Fon Belt, a second being was created, accidental fomicry, the science Jade himself had researched had been preformed, even before the seventh fonim's discovery.

But perhaps, Guy thought, Lorelei hadn't wanted to be discovered for a reason.

Ion nodded, as if confirming Guy's thoughts, before gently pulling the door closed behind him.

"So tell me Ion, what exactly happened?" Jade wasted no time in quickly bringing up the strange occurrence he had witnessed that morning. No doubt, that only chance for humans to see Lorelei would be through either Luke or Asch, but there had been the strange other, Midori, who seemed only to long for Lorelei's return.

Ion smiled, producing the fonstone from the innards of his robes once more. It was small, only a fragment of Yulia's words from Lorelei. The opening statement engraved into that small stone said that unless one understood the message Lorelei left behind, they couldn't deliver it to the one who waited for it, but now that Ion understood, he knew that when his time ran out, he could tell Midori all the things Lorelei had left for her.

"That was Midori, the replica of Lorelei." Ion placed his hand on Guy's shoulder, subconsciously checking for any remains of Sync's Curse Slot.

"How can she exist?" Guy was a little confused, he thought that all replicas existed as attempts at mirror images of the Original, and the perfect Isofones were the perfect replicas, no physical discrepancy. "She's a girl, for one."

"Yes Ion, I'm curious about that fact as well. Is it possible that the fomicry Lorelei used wasn't fomicry at all?" Jade's curiosity was heightened when Midori was revealed to be the replica of the sentience himself, he was curious also as to how a female could result from a male Original, and how something like Lorelei could be replicated at all.

Ion sighed, taking the time he was clearing Guy's fon slots as time to think of a logical response. How was it possible? It shouldn't be possible, but she existed, and she existed within Luke since the day of his creation, to a much smaller degree then the presence Lorelei held within Asch, but how was _she_ possible?

"I think, she is possible due to the fact that modern fomicry, the kind you studied Jade, was standardized to create clone-like beings, where Lorelei simply created another being with the same fonon signature, her appearance and other factors were beyond his control, I don't believe he intended to create a replica of himself, but the increase of the seventh fonim in the fon belt resulted in the discovery of Lorelei's existence."

Jade didn't respond at first, seemingly turning the information over in his mind, deciding if he would accept Ion's theory or not. Guy appeared a bit bemused as well, but the information he was trying to process was having a much harder time.

"So essentially..." Jade paused, what was he trying to say exactly? He wasn't sure if the theories in his mind made sense, compared with this new sentience, had his research been try when he documented the obvious need for Lorelei and Asch to rescue Luke, for perhaps another reason then necessity? "Fomicry then, is just the process of creating an identical fonon signature? The identical appearance wasn't fundamentally required?"

"I believe you are correct Jade. Asch and Luke's obvious affection towards each other is a mirror of Midori and Lorelei." Ion furrowed his brow in aggravation, the remains of Guy's Curse Slot was particularly hard to unwind, it was broken and partially destroyed, but not properly. He proposed that possibly the shock of his actions, and Luke's forgiveness had effectively destroyed much of the curse, but his means of doing so was rather sloppy.

"So in a sense, Asch and Luke, although they share the same fonon signature as Lorelei, Luke, being a replica, was able to more easily connect with Midori, although she didn't exist on this plane. She could only interact with him through his fonons, and since his body is composed of entirely seventh fonons, she merely merged with his fonons to protect him until she could find Lorelei." Ion almost squeaked with happiness when he finally removed the last threads of the Curse Slot, and distanced himself from Guy.

"She could only have minor influence, like the other sentiences? By existing in Luke's fonons, she could only make herself known once, when she could see Lorelei again, but why did she wait until now?" Guy was finally starting to catch on to the conversation, and he felt like a great weight had been lifted, the complete removal of the Curse Slot gifted him with a sense of freedom and brightness.

All three of the men found themselves at a road-block, Jade was formulating a theory, and it could very well be the correct deduction… He just needed a bit more information.

"Perhaps… It has something to do with Van Grants?" Guy offered. Van's plan to use Guy to kill Luke had been deterred by Asch, whose arrival saved Luke's life, but how had he been able to use his hyperresonance twice? And to get to a specific location, nonetheless, none of it made sense.

"I believe it has everything to do with the Dorian General, if only he were here for me to interrogate myself, I would make sure he understood what it meant to mess with the sentiences under my watch." Jade couldn't help but smile at the though of how much he would make Van suffer upon their next meeting. If he had to destroy Van in the most painful way imaginable, Jade surely wouldn't let his morals intervene.

Ion nodded in agreement, grabbing the fonstone from the table he had rested the item upon. "I do believe we all have unfinished business with said Oracle Knight."

"Was that shared conscious his doing then? Was there a reason for its existence?" Guy settled himself down upon the bed he had neatly attempted to remake before breakfast, and began unwrapping one of the muffins he had planned on eating for breakfast, before Jade and Ion whisked him off upstairs.

"A simple defense mechanism, I believe, invoked by those who share the same fonon signature. Perhaps it wasn't Lorelei that protected Luke from death… But instead Midori?" Ion joined Guy on his bed, and snatched one of the blond's pilfered muffins.

"It would appear so, since Midori is not of this plane, she could not interfere in the happenings of Luke's mind, as it was not composed of fonons, as his body was. But death is an entirely different matter, when a replica dies, it's fonons fade, presumably back into the Fon Belt, but she was able to hold Luke's fonons together, because she existed within them." Jade adjusted the glasses on his nose, and leaned back against the wall he had been standing near since their reentry.

"Ah! I understand now!" Guy startled both Ion and Jade with his outburst, but both remained silent, as a way of encouraging Guy to share what he had come to understand. "When Ion was unable to bring Luke back completely using the arte Mieu had, it was Asch's voice that brought Luke back to us, right? Perhaps, since Midori had become such a strong presence in Luke's fonons, holding him together and all, she heard his voice, and could hear Lorelei, just as when Luke spoke earlier, Lorelei could see and hear Midori, right?"

"Makes sense." Jade agreed, "But that still leaves the question of Van's involvement unanswered."

"Sync might hold the other missing piece of the Fon Master's fonstone, as his Daathic Fonic Glyph. Since we are… replicas… too, we can't use the fonic artes as the Original Ion could." Ion looked downcast at admitting to more of his friends that he was not the Original Ion, but his half-eaten muffin appeared more interesting then the slightly surprised faces of Guy and Jade.

"So you were made another victim of fomicry then?" Jade said calmly. He sighed, but made no move to confront Ion about his likeness.

"You are just like Luke then?" Guy placed a comforting hand on Ion's shoulder, and smiled at the troubled Fon Master.

"The real Ion died, and Van and Mohs made many replicas before his death. I was the most perfect match, although not an Isofone, like Luke. The rest were to be cast into the volcano, but Sync was spared, perhaps by Van himself." Ion picked at his uneaten muffin, before finally sighing and meeting the calm gazes of his friends.

"Hey, just like I told Luke, he has as much right to call himself Luke as you do to call yourself Ion. Just because someone else had the same name as you, doesn't mean it can't be yours too." Guy tried his best at reassuring the slightly worried Ion, which seemed to be effective, to him at least.

"Well, I believe Guy has covered the 'we don't discriminate against replicas' bases, but please, continue with what you were saying about Sync, once we understand Van's true motives, we can be sure to prevent them." Jade wasn't surprised at all to learn that Ion was a replica, no matter how young, the Fon Master should be able to use Daathic Fonic Artes, but Ion's weakness following the spells. Replica or not, Ion was their friend, and the Fon Master, and no one could deter their friendship with the boy now.

"…Right!" Ion was glad that his friends would accept him as he was, and like Luke, he didn't ask to be born, but he would make the most of the life he was given. "I believe Van learned of Midori's existence though Sync and the Fon Master's fonstone. It details a conversation Lorelei has with Yulia, concerning someone whom Lorelei cares very deeply for, but I'm missing parts of the Fon Stone, and I believe Sync possess them. If the portion he has details who Midori is, and what her powers were, I believe Van would have been able to piece together everything we just have."

"Wow, that sure is a lot of confusing stuff you guys just talked about." A unfamiliar voice resounded from the doorway, which Jade was surprised he hadn't heard open.

"You could always try knocking, Anise." Ion smiled at his Guardian, who always had a habit of being in places she didn't belong.

"Yeah, but I would have interrupted you three, and it sounds like you guys really have an understanding of what's going on with Luke and Asch." Anise casually waltzed over to Guy's bed, taking a seat next to Ion. She snatched Guy's remaining muffin. Guy would have protested, but Anise was a _girl_ and he didn't exactly want to move into uncomfortable territory.

"Why have you decided to join us?" Jade questioned from his position on the wall. He could only imagine the state of panic the other visitors of the inn were currently feeling, and Asch and Luke surely weren't doing a very good job of reassuring them all.

"Luke and Asch are being weird, they are talking, but not out loud. You can tell by the way they look at each other every now and then. It was driving me insane, because they were doing a terrible job of keeping up with the conversation Tear and Natalia were trying to have with them." Anise sighed, and happily began munching on the muffin she stole.

"So will those two be joining us soon?" Ion couldn't help but laugh, knowing that living with Luke and Asch was going to be tougher then any of his friends had expected.


	22. Endings

**Endings**

**A/N:** I never changed the status from in progress to completed, so I though maybe I could write a little more, just a small bit for closure and to make everyone feel good about reading 22 chapters of a story that was hardly about a Fon Slot Curse, as I so inappropriately named this story. Just thinking about it's ending makes me sad, so many memories!

* * *

"So… You two are in love then?" Natalia casually sipped her tea, her and Tear were failing miserably at coaxing information out of their former love interests, but as Luke's creation forbid, he could love no other, no matter how hard he wished too, Midori's will was far greater then his own. 

Asch could only smile at the princess, he knew she was probably rather hurt over his sudden change of heart, but to know that Luke had honestly wanted Asch to hear Midori's song, and that he had wanted to be with him, will of the sentiences or not, made his opinion on the matter firm. "Of course I love him, he means the world to me."

After all, Asch had been the only one Luke would be saved by. Asch, his Original was the only thing that would make him feel needed and safe when Van's attempts to immobilize him had almost successfully escaped Jade and the medical staffs' watchful eyes.

"I don't think I could ever feel complete without Asch, I feel so much safer knowing he is with me." Luke smiled, and happily snatched up a third piece of toast for his first real meal since his return. He had been living off the plasma and nutrition delivered directly into his blood stream, but now he was happy to actually taste the nutrition he was taking into his body.

"_I feel bad, breaking my engagement to Natalia, do you think she will forgive us?" _Asch spoke to Luke through his mind so they could carry on conversation without the fear of other guests overhearing, but it also gave them privacy from their friends.

"_We are both alive and well now Asch, I'm sure that's got to be worth something, right?"_ Luke smiled, but he was good at hiding the fact that Asch and he were having a conversation that no one else could partake in. It was rude to tell secrets, Luke reminded himself, as he tried to innocently avoid eye contact with his Original, but he was feeling the curious stare Asch had set upon him.

"_Where will we go? After we save Lorelei from Van, I mean. We stick together after that, right?" _Asch broke his gaze upon the unresponsive Luke, but even though the original knew that the replica could feel his gaze, he still pretended like he didn't.

Luke frowned, and set his toast down on his plate, rather bothered by Asch's last inquiry. "I'm not so hungry anymore, Asch, will you aid me in preparing to depart? I'm still a bit weak…"

Asch wasn't aware that he had affected the younger Fabre so, and shrugged his shoulders, excusing them both from the remaining members of their party, although it was only Tear and Natalia that remained. Both girls sighed, defeated.

"It's better then seeing the way Luke used to be at least…" Tear mumbled, before taking a sip of her rapidly cooling tea. She couldn't help but wonder what had first sparked her interest in Luke, he was an arrogant noble until he accidentally killed so many people, and then he had sunk into depression. Asch hadn't proven himself to be much better off, but he was very similar to Luke, Tear could tell they were connected on a much deeper level then just sharing a fonon signature.

"I hope they find happiness." Natalia said, slightly downtrodden. Her hopes of her Luke returning to her had been dashed when she witnessed the strange reunion of the sentiences, only a short while before. The way the Original original affected his original replica could not be argued with, the desires of the being that shared their fonon signatures were strong enough to carry over into this plane, into their Isofone's lives.

"Besides," Natalia added with a smile "Asch is the only one I trust Luke with, Asch isn't stupid enough to harm himself."

Tear smiled, giving up on her tea. It would be a long day of journeying, and she and Natalia had best start packing up for the trek.

* * *

Asch gently shut the door behind him, as he entered behind a rushing Luke. The replica settled himself on the bed, the bed he and Asch had shared the night before, and just rested face up with his eyes closed. 

"What will we do now Asch? Where do we go?" Luke rolled over on to his side, and Asch could have sworn he could see the innocence that once was shining through in those green eyes.

Asch leaned against the door, his head falling back to make light contact with the wood. He sighed, before propelling himself off the door and to Luke.

"Have you already forgotten what you said you wanted to do? We have to free Lorelei." Asch sat down on the foot of the bed, and Luke wasted no time in scooting over to rest his head in his Original's lap.

"After, Asch. Where do we go after it's all said and done? We will be together, right?" Luke reached up to Asch's face, resting his hand on the identical cheek of his Original.

"If you wish it Luke, I'll stay by your side. I'm sure, as a reward, Lorelei will allow us to stay together, if we reunite him with Midori and all." Asch tangled his fingers into Luke's short locks of hair. "I wish you had left it long, your hair…"

"It'll grow back Asch." Luke said, smiling.

"I'm going to kill Van next time we see him…" Asch rubbed the scalp of his replica, in a soothing manner. Luke closed his eyes and almost purred in delight, his tender area had always been right above his ears, and obviously Asch was aware of it, being his Original and all.

"Not if I can first." Luke closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of Asch's pampering. "Or any of our other friends." He added.

"Yes, I do believe our friends have developed some unpleasant feelings for him, haven't they?" Asch smiled, knowing that the next time they encountered the Dorian General, the combined power of the party of their friends, would defiantly never let his crimes go without punishment.

"You know that I love you Asch." Luke smiled, running his hand through Asch's bangs before dropping it to the bed beside him.

"And I love you too, Luke." Asch leaned down and his lips met with his replica's, the electricity of their love coursing through their veins.

It would be an interesting journey, and it would lead Asch and Luke to places they wished never to return to, but Luke wrote in his diary when Asch stepped into the shower…

_It's been a long time since I last updated in here, but something bad happened, and Asch saved me. I would have never survived without him, I'm glad he came, and I'm glad he will stay… Thank you… Asch... You mean more then you know to me_

* * *

**A/N**: End! I'm sorry this chapter wasn't that great at wrapping things up, I might do a sequel about the future, after Lorelei has been freed and Luke and Asch are trying to find a place for themselves. Maybe maybe maybe baby :D 


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